


A Certain Point Of View

by LyricalKris



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Drama/Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-28
Updated: 2012-06-05
Packaged: 2017-11-06 23:37:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 35,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/424467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalKris/pseuds/LyricalKris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A wise man once said, "Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." A love story as seen through the eyes of friends and passersby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tanya

**Disclaimer: These are not my characters, as you might have noticed. I'm just playing in SM's backyard with her fuckawesome toys.**

* * *

"Thanks so much for this. You have no idea how much you're saving my life."

I smiled at the new girl. She was a genuine type. Pleasant enough to be around, which made my job all the easier. Since I'd handed in my resignation, almost two weeks ago, I'd suggested her as a new hire at the request of my boyfriend. She was smart enough - not that my job was rocket science.

We worked in the admissions building at the local University. At the information desk to be exact. It was a glorified way of saying we directed Freshman and visitors where to go, as well as maintaining Professor requests. Like I said, easy peasy stuff, but you wouldn't believe the number of people who couldn't hack this job. But it paid well enough, and it had its perks.

Rich, pleasant laughter reached my ears, and I turned. Speaking of perks...

"Who are they?"

I grinned at the new girl, leaning in and speaking low. One of the best things about my job - her job now - was that I got to know or at least come in contact with pretty much everyone on the campus. "Professor Whitlock teaches history, and Professor Cullen teaches English. They are easily the most attractive Professors on the campus." I frowned and sighed. "But they're also very unavailable. Professor Whitlock has a long term girlfriend."

"And Professor Cullen?"

I grimaced. Professor Cullen's perpetually single but perpetually disinterested status had me beyond vexed, and I wasn't the only one. "Professor Cullen is... a tough nut to crack," I said finally, hoping my voice wasn't as sad as I thought it might be.

To say I had a little crush on man was putting it far too mildly. I was infatuated. Beyond infatuated, actually. In fact, it'd taken me some soul searching to figure it out, but my unconscious wish to keep myself available for the Professor was what kept me from accepting my boyfriend's proposal for shamefully long. Jake didn't deserve that. He was a nice man. A good man. I loved him.

Which was why I was quitting my job here. I'd finally said yes. We were getting married and moving on - away from the influence of Professor Edward Cullen.

"Hmm," the new girl hummed. She shrugged. "Oh, well. Maybe he's gay," she said dismissively.

I wanted to snicker but held myself back. She was trying not to be affected, but who could help it? Both men were gorgeous, charming, and way too intelligent for anyone's good. She'd only seen the gorgeous part of the trifecta. It would only be a matter of time before she got to know them a little better.

If she thought I didn't notice the way she glanced up so casually, her eyes following the pair across the mezzanine to the little cafe in the corner, she was greatly mistaken.

~0~

A few hours before my shift ended, pretty much every employee in the building flooded the downstairs. Suddenly, there was a huge cake resting on my booth.

A farewell party.

I'll admit, I cried a little bit.

I was chatting with Professor Masen when a shiver went down my spine. Not a split second later there was the low, smooth tone of Professor Cullen's voice rumbling in my ear. "Congratulations."

My breath caught. I turned slowly to give myself time to put on my most beatific smile. "Why thank you, Professor."

Edward made small talk while I pretended I wasn't as thrilled as a fangirl who's just run into her celebrity crush. Then, as if the interaction weren't delicious enough, he leaned even closer. "So tell me..." He began, his voice conspiratorial.

My heart began to pound. After years of my pining, was he really about to make a move the very day I left to marry my long suffering boyfriend? "Yes?" I squeaked.

"The new girl...your replacement. What's her name?"

I stared at him, blinking dumbly. I felt a rush of indignation. It'd taken him a year to learn my name. Not that we saw each other that often - I usually only saw him as he crossed to the cafe - but still! He'd never sought my name out. "Um," I began, unreasonably jealous of the new girl, but then she appeared by my side.

"Hey. Let me help you take your things out to the car," she said, smiling at me in that friendly way of hers. I sighed to myself because I knew I could never hate her. It was a bad idea to dislike her anyway. She was one of Jake's favorite people.

Just as she picked up the box, Professor Cullen snapped into action. "No, I got it. I was just about to offer, actually." He grinned what could only be described as a panty melting smile at her.

Somehow, I resisted the urge to pout. He'd never looked at me that way.

And he was such a liar. He hadn't even thought of helping me before she showed up. Fucking showoff.

He looked at me somewhat expectantly, his eyes flicking back at her.

Oh, right. I cleared my throat, reminding myself that I had a wonderful boyfriend waiting for me at home. I could probably get him to give me a foot massage tonight. "Bella, this is Professor Edward Cullen. Professor, this is Bella Swan, my replacement."

They shook hands, and I could tell Bella was trying not to be as charmed as she was. Good luck with that, sister.

When he was finally able to tear his gaze away, Edward looked over at me, hoisting the box of my things into his arms. "Come on, Tanya. I'll walk you to your car."

* * *

**A/N: This fic will consist of 15-20 very short chapters. I will be posting daily. Each chapter will be from a different person's PoV but this is an E/B story, so we'll see how that goes.**

**Thank you to bmango for the idea. She wrote a voyeuristic drabble that sparked this in my head.**

**Thank you to CellaCullen for helping me plot and inspiring me. ;) You're a force of nature, baby.**

**Thank you to my team, my beautiful girls, for putting up with yet another of my fics - jfka06, barburella, and jadedandboring.**

**So. Preliminary thoughts?**


	2. Jasper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize in advance for not review replying. You guys really make my day, and I wish there were more hours in it. But as it is, I'm "behind" on all my WIP's, I'm behind at work. You get the idea. I love you all, and I'm glad you're here for the ride!

It didn't matter how well you knew a guy, telling him you were about to propose to his sister was always nerve wracking. I had a little sister. I knew these things. Sure, he was my best friend, but that didn't guarantee he'd give me his approval. Not that I needed it - if Alice agreed to marry me, I'd gladly walk to the alter over Edward's screaming protests if it came to it - but it'd still be nice.

Besides that, I needed help. It was no secret that Edward was slightly more creative than I, and a whole lot more romantic. I supposed it couldn't be helped, what with his knowing just about all the classics and Shakespeare by heart.

The motherfucker could have his pick of any woman he wanted between his looks - and I was secure enough in my masculinity to admit that he was an attractive man - his smarts, and his natural store of romantic lines. More than one of his students was, well, interested. Name the college cliche and it'd happened to him. More students had tried to turn their F's into passing grades by beginning to remove their clothes than I had fingers.

Poor guy, right?

Anyway, if he wasn't going to use all of that considerable charm for himself, the least he could do was let me borrow some to make my lady feel special. I figured, if I could get through telling him, Edward would have nearly as much of a vested interest in making her happy as I did. Alice was the kind who'd like a big, showy proposal, and what my baby wanted, my baby got.

If only I could figure out how to tell her brother.

We sat across from each other at our favorite campus cafe. That he didn't notice I'd chewed the hell out of my straw in the first five minutes should have been telling, but I was distracted.

Huffing, I told myself to man up and spit it out. "Edward I..." I tried, but I lost my words mid-sentence and trailed off. "See, this is..." Third time's a charm. "Edward. I'm gonna..."

I stared at my glass feeling more spastic and nervous than I had since I was a pimply faced teenage Freshman asking an upper class girl to the Spring dance.

It took me a minute to realize that Edward wasn't calling me out on my behavior or laughing at me. When I glanced up, I realized he wasn't even looking at me. That asshole wasn't paying a lick of attention to what I was saying - or trying to say.

Displaying all the maturity a full fledged professor should carry himself with, I flicked my balled up straw wrapper right into his face.

"Hey!" Edward protested, turning to me with an irritated expression.

"What is the matter with you?" I hissed under my breath. "I've been sitting here, talking to the side of your face, and you're not even listening to what I'm saying.."

"I am," Edward insisted, looking sheepish as he faced all the way forward.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, what did I tell you?"

Edward just rolled his eyes, knowing he'd been caught. "Sorry. I was just thinking of a few problem students, that's all."

That struck me as suspicious. "Edward, it's only three weeks into term. How could you possibly have problem students already?" I knew Edward well enough to understand that by problem students, he didn't mean that they were unruly. He could take care of class hecklers easily enough. Problem students to that man usually meant those who were in danger of failing.

It occurred to me then that we'd been having lunch at the cafe a lot more often than usual. In all my distraction, hemming and hawing over how and when to propose to Alice, had I missed something?

"I, um..." Edward tried, but he knew I'd caught him in a lie. He sighed, his shoulders slumping the way they did when he was about to admit to something he'd done. Before he could though, his eye was caught by someone walking by. I'd never seen his head snap up so fast.

Curious, I looked to see what had his attention. The only other person in the cafe was the new information desk worker. Bella, I think her name was. She'd taken over when Tanya left three weeks before.

And Edward couldn't take his eyes off her. In fact, he was smiling this private, somewhat goofy little grin as he watched her make a beeline for the coffee.

"Holy hell," I muttered, completely taken aback. "I was beginning to think you were a eunuch and just hadn't told me."

Edward's head turned toward me so quick I heard the tendons in his neck crackle. We both winced, and he rubbed at the sore spot. "What are you talking about?"

I grinned at him, feeling the odd urge to point and laugh like we were high school boys. "You," I said, pointing at him. "Like her." I pointed at Bella.

Glaring, Edward knocked my hand down. "Don't point like that, it's rude!" he admonished under his breath.

"You didn't deny it," I said, snickering with an oddly childlike delight. Oh, wait until I told Emmett about this. "Well, what are you waiting for?" I glanced at her casually, looking her over. "It doesn't look like she has a ring. Be a big boy. Ask her out."

The utterly horrified expression that crossed his face then was priceless. I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from laughing at him. "I'm a professor!" he protested, sounding scandalized.

"Are you her professor?"

"Well, no..."

I rolled my eyes, wondering what Edward's deal was. There was no reason he had to be a monk. If he was even vaguely interested in this girl... woman, I was honor bound by the bro-code to encourage him to do something about it. "What's the issue here? It's not unethical if you're not her professor."

He frowned, glancing at her briefly before turning his head back around resolutely. "She's a baby. She can't be more than 21 if she's that old at all."

"And you're what? A hundred and nine? Edward, you're 31 years old. That's not such an insurmountable difference." I waved my hand dismissively. "Besides, there's no harm in a little date. I'm not telling you to marry the girl or anything." Or heaven forbid, get a little ass. Before Alice I'd had my share of student ass, and I wasn't exactly ashamed of it.

Edward, however, seemed uncertain, which was saying something. Confident was one of the first descriptors that occurred to anyone asked to talk about him.

Oh, yeah. Emmett was going to get a kick out of this.

What was he worried about? The mother fucker used words like shan't and shall. The fairer sex ate that kind of shit up. Hell, guys who liked other guys ate that kind of shit up - I didn't discriminate. I'd have supported Edward no matter what hr wanted. It was so strange to see him worked up at the mere thought of approaching a woman.

"Find your balls, my man. The worst that can happen is she shoots you down and that'll be the end of all the pining," I said as I gathered up my trash.

"I'm not pining," he grumbled, but his eyes followed her as she returned to her post.

Chortling at him, I stood up. I had a class to get to. "Anyway, get under it or get over it, because right now, I need you on your A game. I have an assignment for you. I need ten proposal ideas to sweep your sister off her feet on my desk in the morning," I said quickly as I began to walk away.

"Yeah, I'll see you la- wait, what?"

I laughed again, feeling much more at ease as I heard his footfalls stumbling after me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So... guesses as to who's next?


	3. Angela

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Everyone guessed Emmett. Well, too bad!
> 
> Emmett is chapter 8 as of right now.

Oh, my God. Ben was going to kill me. No... my father was definitely going to kill me. I still cringed when I remembered his lectures when I told him I wanted to move in with Ben my sophomore year. He'd threatened to cut me off. What kind of an idiotic threat was that anyway? He was insistent that I'd get pregnant before I could finish college if I moved in with Ben. How much sense did it make that his threat if I did move in with my boyfriend would be to cut me off, thus assuring that I wouldn't finish college because I couldn't pay for it?

Fucktarded logic, Dad.

Well, I hadn't moved in with Ben. Now I was entering my Senior year... and I was pregnant anyway.

I wrung my hands fitfully as I tried to do the math in my head. By my calculations, I just might make it to the end of the next semester. I'd be huge... but maybe my professors would let me turn things in early.

I banged my head on the table in front of me, groaning at the myriad of problems I'd just brought on myself.  _Seriously, Angela? Were you not listening when the pharmacist said that antibiotics could interfere with birth control?_

This was a set back, no two ways about it. Still... I wanted to be happy. Ben and I wanted this. Sure, it was a little sooner than we expected, but we could make it, right?

The key turning in the door distracted me, and I looked up to find my roommate, Bella, coming in the door. Good, she could definitely give me some advice on that front. She could help me figure out how to tell Ben.

I opened my mouth, eager to tell someone, but immediately snapped it shut again.

Bella looked a lot more tired than usual. The poor girl ran herself ragged between work, school, and her other obligations. She sat heavily in the chair opposite me, propping her elbows on the table and rubbing her temples.

"What's wrong, hon?" I asked, concerned for her.

She made an effort to put on a smile. "Nothing, really. How was everything today?"

I shook my head. Normally, I'd let it go when Bella dismissed me. I figured if she wanted to talk about it, she knew where to find me. This time, though, her sadness concerned me. Bella also had the tendency to take on too much by herself when she didn't need to. "Tell me," I encouraged.

She sighed. "It's really nothing. Some guy asked me out again today. "

"Oh." That wasn't so unusual. I was automatically curious what about this encounter had her looking so sad and weary. "Another dumb college jock, eh?"

"No..." She folded her hands on the table, staring down. "He's a professor, actually." Again she tried to smile, but the girl was a horrible liar. "Anyway, I guess it's a good sign. A step up, right?"

I studied her carefully. Personally, I thought Bella deserved to go out on a date. A professor sounded like a fabulous idea - someone more her intellectual equal. She got impatient with guys her own age. She'd turned 21 a few days before, but she may as well have been thirty. "Bella... why don't you ever say yes? It's obvious you want to this time."

She looked up, but before she could answer there was the tell tale cry of a toddler who'd just woken up from her nap and wasn't very happy about it.

Smiling wryly, Bella stood and walked quickly down the hallway. She came back a moment later cuddling her two year old daughter close. Kassandra April Swan had her little arms thrown tight around Bella, her head buried at her mother's neck. Bella sat carefully, rubbing Kas's back soothingly.

Watching them, remembering everything Bella had been through since she found herself pregnant at 18, I felt guilty for freaking out about my pregnancy. There were so many things she had to face that I never would. No one was going to call me a whore as I walked through the halls. My father might be disappointed, but I wouldn't have to face the critical eye of strangers, teachers, and my fellow students. What a difference a few little years made. She was a tower of strength - a good mother who worked at making something of herself despite her challenges. If she could do this alone while I had Ben and a degree in the bag, I needn't be so worried.

Over her daughter's head, Bella answered my question. "I've got more important things to worry about than dating."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sooooo yeah. Baby Daddy PoV coming up next. Guesses?


	4. Mike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You guys are funny. A lot of you guessed it, but a lot of you guessed Jake. Jake is with Tanya in this story (cackle). I think Tanya might have been a little more familiar with Bella than calling her "the new girl" in the first chapter if she was also her fiancé's baby's mother. Not to worry.

"Man, it's sleeting out there. How am I supposed to take Kas trick-or-treating when it's too cold and wet to walk?" I grumbled, staring out the window and scowling at the sky as if my anger would turn off the rain.

"Maybe you should have let Bella keep her this weekend, Mike. The malls in Seattle always do something for Halloween so kids don't get kidnapped," my wife, Jessica, said, sounding grouchy.

I tried to be patient with her. She was stressed out as it was, and I couldn't blame her. She'd just given birth to our son, little Mikey, barely two weeks before. She'd been more than adamant about her opinion that I should let Kas stay with Bella for a little while - at least until we'd had a chance to adjust to the sleeplessness.

I was an idiot. No two ways about it, I was kind of a fuck-up. How else had I ended up with two kids when I was barely 21? And they were both my fault. I guessed I never learned.

Bella, I think, got the shorter end of the Mike Newton stick.

That didn't sound right.

Anyway. The thing was, back when we were all seventeen and Bella first came to live here, I had an instant crush on her. She was new and interesting. Everyone else from Forks High I'd known since I was eight years old. Not to put it so crassly, but she was fresh meat, and believe me, most of the eligible bachelors of Forks High were at least.. intrigued.

Looking back, I know I put her on a pedestal superficially. What could I say? I was just a stupid kid. But Bella, who wasn't as shallow as I was by a long shot, rebuffed my advances and steered me in the direction of the girl who'd been looking at me like I looked at Bella.

Jessica and I started dating at the end of Junior year. It was good. Maybe a little too good. We got serious fast. Really fast.

Ah, teenage love.

I don't even remember what dance it was. I just remember that I was intent on showing Jessica a good time. I went all out, pooled all the money I made working at my dad's store for months to pay for a limo...and a hotel room.

As fate would have it, Jessica got sick and couldn't go. She was pissed, but sweetheart that she was, she insisted that I shouldn't waste my money. She helped convince Bella she should go with me as a friend. That was what we were at that point: friends.

We had a good time. Since Bella wasn't my girlfriend, I didn't have to pose for stupid pictures or be concerned that I wasn't dancing enough with her. Mostly we drank punch and giggled about the "wicked moves" some of the other kids had on the dance floor.

We drank a lot of punch.

A lot of spiked punch, though we didn't know it.

All I remember about the limo ride to the hotel - where we'd fully intended to take advantage of a pay-per-view movie and not much more - was looking over and thinking how beautiful she was, all dressed up, and how much I wanted to kiss her.

We woke up the next morning naked with terrible headaches and, well, just a mess on our hands... that got infinitely more messy about three weeks later when Bella started getting really nauseous.

I tried to be a good dad. I loved Kas, my little girl with my eyes and Bella's pretty brown hair. I worried endlessly about the days when some stupid little shit like me would look at her the way I looked at Bella. But I was getting ahead of myself. There were more immediate things that should have concerned me more.

When we found out that Jess was pregnant, Bella and I had a conversation about Kas. I'd promised her that I would do my damnedest to make sure our daughter never felt like she was second best to my son. I was trying really hard to keep that promise.

And besides that, I was, I'll admit, totally stoked to see Kas in the Ninja Turtle outfit I'd bought her.

Before she was born, Bella and I came to a compromise on her name. She wanted to pick her first name, and named her after Kassandra - one of her favorite book characters from some book I'd never heard of called  _The Firebrand_. She let me pick her middle name.

Bella had rolled her eyes so hard when she realized I picked April because of my love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

What? When I was little, I used to pretend that Mike was short for Michelangelo. Besides, April was a pretty name. A pretty name for my pretty daughter.

Seeing the frown on my face, Jess sighed and relented. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

Smiling, I kissed my wife on the nose. It had been a lot of drama, of course. A  _lot_ of drama. But I was glad Jess and I had worked out, eventually. "Why don't you go take a nap? I'll watch the baby."

She looked dubious. "And when Kas gets here? You're gonna watch a baby and a toddler?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I can do it. What? I can," I insisted. "He just lays there, poops, and cries. I can handle that...you know, for a little while."

Rolling her eyes, Jessica just shook her head and yawned. "Fine. Just call me before you kill one of them, okay?"

I kissed her again. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

I kept an eye out the window so Bella didn't have to ring the doorbell, thus waking both Mikey and Jessica up. I held the door open when she darted inside, Kas held securely against her hip with a raincoat thrown over her head.

"Stay a minute? Meet my son?" I asked Bella once I'd had a chance to kiss Kas until she giggled.

Bella settled Kas's bag on the floor near the couch, her eyes straying to the little bundle in the car seat. "Um, sure. Yeah. Of course."

"Go ahead and take him out. He's a chill little guy. He'll just go right back to sleep," I said, sweeping Kas up into my arms for another hug. "Hey sweetheart, how would you like to meet your new little brother?"

Kas looked slightly disinterested and impatient - an expression she'd definitely gotten from her mother - but she was amenable. "Otay, Daddy," she agreed.

I looked over to find Bella had gotten Mikey out of his car seat and was sitting with him settled in the crook of her arm. Her smile was gentle, her touch soft as she ran the fingers of her free hand across his miniature features. "He looks a lot like Jess," she murmured, turning to smile at me. "He's beautiful."

More curious now, Kas climbed up onto the couch and crawled over to her little brother. She patted him tentatively. To both my and Bella's amusement, she promptly sat down and started babbling, completely oblivious to the fact the baby was sleeping and wasn't paying even the remotest bit of attention to anyone.

Chuckling, I looked up at Bella, feeling the need to make small talk. It'd been a while since we'd talked. A lot had been going on, what with the baby being on the way. That, and my Dad had died recently, leaving me his store.

Right, because I had any idea how to manage a store...

"So... are you seeing anyone?" I asked. It always surprised me when Bella said no, which she always did. She was a smart cookie - much smarter than I was. She and Jessica were alike in that way - both brilliant and talented.

"Not really," Bella said quietly, as I'd expected. I thought I heard a hint of, I don't know, wistfulness, I guess, in her tone, and I wondered what 'not really' meant. Was there someone she was interested in? It would be just like Bella to hold back for Kassandra's sake.

Watching her hold my son, I couldn't help but think that she would be doing so much better in my place. As it was, she'd been so much better handling the fallout after we got pregnant with Kas. She'd cried. My God, how much she'd cried. But while I kind of stood around, gaping helplessly, barely able to keep from peeing my pants between the looks I was getting from her father and the looks I was getting from mine, she picked herself up. She started planning for the future, getting her life together.

"You know," I began hesitantly. Tact wasn't exactly my forte, and I hoped this came out right. "You don't have to miss out on all that just because you have a kid. You should go out. You deserve it."

She sighed, looking a little irritated. "Well, thank you, Mike, but I just don't have time for all that. I work, I go to school, I'm a mother to our daughter. And I want everything that's best for her. She deserves more than I can afford to give her right now, but I'm working on it.  _That's_ what's important."

I knew she didn't mean it like that, but I heard the rebuke in her little speech. After all, it wasn't me who'd buckled down so she could graduate early. It wasn't me who'd started working any penny ante job while she was still pregnant. She only took three weeks off after Kas was born before she was back at work. It definitely wasn't me who moved to Seattle when Kas wgTas six months old because there were more job opportunities... and less of Jessica's bitchy friends trying to claw her eyes out.

"Maybe... I don't know. Maybe I can take Kas more often..." I began. It wasn't that I didn't want her, or that I didn't love her. I just didn't know what I was doing. Bella had yelled at me once that it wasn't as if she did, but what could I say?

Bella sighed, and when she looked at me again she was smiling slightly. "You have your own problems. Your own life. I'm not going to change things on you now." She stood, carefully transferring Mikey to my arms while Kas protested, "Hey!" indignant that we were moving her audience.

"Besides," Bella continued, ruffling our daughter's hair. "I couldn't be away from her for that long. This is hard enough."

After she'd left, I sat, watching as my daughter sat cross legged in front of my son's car seat, chatting with him. I was lost in thought, wondering at Bella's strength.

I knew Bella was right. She'd been every bit the child I was when our daughter was born, but she hadn't used that as an excuse. Where I found work where I could, sending an admittedly paltry sum to Bella as child support every month, she'd worked hard to better her situation. In August, she'd even found a decent job at a University where one of the perks was free tuition. Bella had been taking college classes here and there as she could for the last two years.

Now I'd inherited my father's store. He'd been a disorganized man, and the finances were a bit of a mess, but I knew the store wasn't unprofitable. I could be successful.

Looking at my daughter and new son, I grew resolved.

For them. For my kids, my wife, and my baby momma, all of whom deserved more than I'd given them so far, I could grow up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Your reviews make me smile. Thank you so much for a wonderful year in this wonderful fandom. Here's to a Happy 2012 for all of you and yours.


	5. Mr. Banner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Totally meant to post this at midnight EST, but we randomly went to see We Bought a Zoo. It was cute.
> 
> Happy New Year everyone!

"Hey! Don't think I don't see you stuffing those chips into your bag!" I called out a warning to the stupid shit Freshman who was trying to shoplift on my watch.

He turned to glare at me. "Dude. Chill. I was gonna pay for it."

_Yeah, right. I wasn't born yesterday, kid._

For the most part, this job was okay. Working as a cashier at a cafe in a private university wasn't exactly strenuous. So I had to yell at the occasional hoodlum. So what?

I bit back the urge to feel sorry for myself. It was no one's fault but my own I was stuck here. The cashier's job was usually reserved for the fresh faced 18 year old kids who had no job experience.

Once upon a time, I could have taught here, but that part of my life was done with. You do a lot of stupid crap when you're constantly drunk off your ass. And I was. For the better part of two years, I was drunk almost every day.

It happened, or so my therapist said. It wasn't as though I was the only one who'd ever gone off the deep end when their spouse died. What mattered was that I recognized I needed help and worked to solve that problem. Or so she kept trying to tell me. And when that didn't work, she reminded me that my Belinda was up there somewhere looking down on me, and I didn't want to disappoint her.

That one worked quite a bit better.

What mattered was that I'd been sober for going on a year. What mattered was I was a contributing member of society again. I kept trying to tell myself that while I dealt with the myriad of college kids milling around me.

"Good morning, Mr. Banner," a sleepy voice caught my attention. I turned to see one of the bright spots in my day, Miss Bella Swan, ambling toward the coffee. I swear it was the only thing that kept the poor girl going most days.

"Miss Swan," I greeted her.

She glanced over her shoulder with a mock-fierce glare. "I told you to call me Bella."

"When you start calling me Bob, I'll start calling you Bella," I retorted with a snort.

"Fine," she said, the word distorted as a yawn interrupted it. As usual, she poured a liberal amount of creamer into her coffee and enough sweetener to kill a small mouse. She'd told me once she hated coffee, so she did her damnedest to make it taste like anything but. It didn't make a lot of sense to me - there were plenty of other ways to get a caffeine fix - but what did I know? I was just an old man.

When Bella came up to my line, I didn't even bother to tell her the price. She knew. Coffee, a small milk, and one of those single serving bowls of Special K. It was her staple during the week. Today must have been one of her more harried mornings. When she was particularly stressed or had a bad morning, she would add a bag of Jolly Ranchers to the mix.

I watched her sleepy smile fall progressively further as she rooted through her bag. "Oh, hell," she muttered under her breath. "Oh, no. Not today," she groaned. "I don't think I brought my wallet."

She continued looking through her bag as if the wallet would magically appear. Before I could tell her it was on the house this time, someone cleared their throat. "Excuse me. I'll get it."

We both looked up to see Professor Cullen standing on the other side of my little area, proffering a ten dollar bill. He walked around quickly to stand at her side.

"Oh, no. Professor Cullen, I couldn't -"

"Don't worry. It doesn't count as me taking you out for coffee," he said, grinning impishly at her. He leaned in a little closer, but I still heard him whisper. "I still want to do that properly, by the way."

I made the decision for her, taking his money and digging around for change. Paying for her breakfast was the least he could do if he was going to use cheesy pick up lines like that.

Bella, in the meantime, had turned a bright shade of red, and I saw that she shivered when his lips were so near her ear. I knew that look. No one could tell it now, but back in the day, I'd been quite the young stud. He had her. She was fighting like a fish on a line, but he had her for sure.

She glared at him for a moment, opened her mouth, looking like she was about to tell him off, and then sighed as I handed him his change. "Thank you," she finally said grudgingly. "And as for proper coffee, no, thank you. For, what is this...the fourth time?" She smiled sweetly at him.

Professor Cullen just chuckled. It wasn't difficult to see he was smitten with the girl. I recognized that look, too. I'd looked much the same when I'd found my beloved Belinda - just so charmed and all tied up in knots even when she was being sassy. Especially when she was being sassy. Just as it seemed Bella had turned down the Professor, so my Belinda turned me down. And just as it seemed he couldn't take a hint, I kept coming back until she finally agreed.

My God, how I missed her.

Looked like Bella had hooked him just as deep.

He tilted his head, moving in line behind her with his own purchases. "Well then, if you haven't been persuaded just yet, have a good day, Bella."

She kind of stumbled away, as if in a trance, and I shook my head, remembering the foolishness that was young love. It made the tongue twist and the feet stumble. Watching it made me ache for my Missus, but it also made me remember why life, in all its twists, turns, and heartache, was well worth the journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: See you tomorrow, everyone. Enjoy the first day of 2012


	6. Eric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, inkedupmom left me a review begging me to post again today. I mean...who am I to say no to that kind of fervor?
> 
> But this is a one time thing. Cuz it's a holiday and a new year and all that jazz. *wags finger at you* Just this once!

Go into computers, Eric. You'll always have a well paying job.

That was what my mom told me growing up. I didn't argue. As long as she thought she was feeding my computer skills, I could convince her to get me all the parts and programs I wanted. A new computer every year? Hell, yeah. You know it.

But well paying? Maybe back in 1990. Nowadays, I was lucky if I could afford rent, let alone things like, oh, I don't know, Christmas gifts? I wasn't going to have enough to get my girlfriend anything decent, and that just sucked.

On top of that, IT work had to be the most thankless job on the planet. Well, maybe next to anything retail...or being a waiter. At least I wasn't a fucking waiter - fuck that. I was on the team they called when any type of technology broke down on the campus.

You know, for being so g'damned smart, these motherfucking professors could break the Internet. I swear, they've tried. And then they expect me to fix it while they glare at me as if I'm an inconvenience to them. Bitch, please! If it wasn't for my ass, there would be chaos.

What I should've done was just quit - just watch the whole campus fall to pieces without me. In fact, maybe I would quit. I'd do it in the middle of a job - right when one of the biggest bitch professors really needed something. I'd-

"Hey, Yorkie!"

I jumped in my seat, startled when my boss, Emily, called my name. She laughed at me. "Jeez, you looked so serious. What were you thinking about?"

"World domination, obviously. What's up? We got another ticket?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah. Professor Cullen."

I threw an appreciative smile her way. Professor Cullen was actually one of the better tickets to get. He didn't have to call very often - he wasn't quite as technically illiterate as some of the other professors - but when he did, he was always unfailingly polite.

And Jesus Christ, he had a nice ass.

What? I had a girlfriend. That didn't mean I was blind.

When I got to his classroom, I found both Professor Cullen and Professor Whitlock there. Well, hell, was it my birthday? The only thing that could make this better was if Professor Whitlock's girlfriend came in. Now that was a trio of hot I didn't know how to deal with.

Professor Cullen explained the problem, and I almost sighed with contentment when he leaned over me to point at something on the screen.

And now that I had my treat for the day, back to business.

As I settled down to work, Whitlock asked Cullen if he'd gotten anywhere with someone named Bella.

Yeah, of course I listened in. Eavesdropping was one of the perks of people acting like I didn't exist except to make their technological woes go away. It was insane - the things people would say around me.

"I honestly don't know how to gauge that," Cullen said with a sigh. "Technically, we have lunch together fairly frequently."

"Technically?"

I glanced up in time to see Professor Cullen roll his eyes. "We happen to take lunch at the same time some days, at the same place. Then one or the other of us hems and haws about since we're both here, we might as well sit at the same table."

Whitlock laughed, which was good because it covered my amused huff.

"I know it's strange," Cullen allowed. "They aren't quite dates, but it doesn't seem like a friendship either. Unconventional to the say the least, but I wouldn't trade it. I think we've come to know each other quite well. She's...fascinating, Jasper. I could listen to her talk all day. The ideas she has!"

"But how does she feel?" Whitlock asked.

Cullen was silent for a moment, and when I glanced up, he seemed contemplative. "That's the question, isn't it? The girl... she has me vexed."

"Vexed," Whitlock snickered.

"Yes, vexed. Discombobulated, if you prefer." He sighed again. I was getting the idea that Cullen just might be a dramatic mother fucker. "I think, sometimes, that she feels like I do. Sometimes she looks at me, and I..." he trailed off, like he was at a loss.

Not for nothing, but this guy was kind of a pussy.

"I'm not sure how to explain this, but I get the feeling that there's something … else. She's older than her years suggest, does that make sense?" Cullen continued.

"Mmm, yes and no. Go on."

"There's something hanging over her head that she won't talk about," Cullen muttered. "Maybe I should take a hint, but I don't know. It doesn't seem like she's disinterested, just cautious, or scared. If it's anything other than disinterest, then I think it's worth fighting for, but how can I know if I really should just leave her alone if she doesn't tell me what it is? It's driving me crazy. I wish I knew what she was thinking."

Whitlock snickered again. "Yeah, welcome to the rest of the human race."

I snorted. I couldn't help it. "Sorry," I said when both men turned to me. "Couldn't help but overhear. The whole mind reading thing would come in very useful at times. Anyway, you're all set, Professor."

Cullen smiled at me. "You're a lifesaver, Eric. There's one more thing." He opened his drawer and rooted around for something. "I hope you don't think I'm terribly forward. You're dating a student of mine, Katie Marshal?"

"Yes," I confirmed, curious as to where this was going.

"Well, she happened to mention the name of a favorite restaurant of hers during a crent conversation. I wanted you to know how much I truly appreciate what you've done for me this last year so..." He held out what I realized were vouchers to Katie's favorite restaurant, and my mouth dropped open. "Happy Holidays."

Well cut my legs and call me shorty. I guessed not everything about this job was thankless.

As I left the English building, I thought that maybe I wouldn't quit just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay. That was fun. Be prepared for drama tomorrow. And really - thank you so much for all your kind reviews. I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story so far and the whole point of view thing seems to be working. :)


	7. Amber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Since I got this question a bunch of times from my pre-readers, Amber was the waitress that served Edward and Bella in La Bella Italia. Lol. Yes, I'm a dork for knowing that.

"Amber! Amber! They're back again."

Oh, great. Just what I needed.

I grimaced but turned to my coworker, the current waitress on duty. Well, in a cafe like this, I supposed she wasn't really a waitress. She took the food orders out front, served the customers if what they wanted was in one of the foodstuffs ready to be scooped or ladled out, and if they wanted one of the made-to-order items we offered, she brought it back to me to cook.

Right, my life was so glamorous.

Ugh, I just wasn't in the mood for the latest episode of 'The Professor and the Help Desk Girl.' Especially since I knew who the help desk girl was.

Of course I would have to end up working at the same university as that bitch, Bella Swan. Fucking tramp. We'd all gone to Forks High together - her, me, and Jessica. I'd never been good friends with the girl, but Jessica was, for all the good it did her. Jess went out of her way to make sure Bella actually got to experience one high school dance - she hadn't been to any of the others - and how did the whore repay her? By getting herself knocked up by Jess's boyfriend.

I was more than a little bitter when Jess took the asshole back. Of course Mike said it was an accident. What a typically male claim. But she believed him. I'd thought she was smarter than that. It pissed me off to no end that she was with that loser. She'd been well on her way to making something of herself when he'd gone and knocked her up, too.

Ugh! People and their little romances disgusted me.

Though, I supposed it was just the mood I was in. The situation was hitting a little too close to home. After all the time I spent bitching at Jessica for being stupid enough to get back together with Mike, you'd think I'd recognize the signs. You'd think I wouldn't be surprised when my boyfriend ran off with my supposed B.F.F.

It was so cliche I wanted to just die.

But around here, the professor and the tramp passed as great entertainment. No one else knew what I knew about Bella. They all thought it was cute: the way the professor puppy-dogged after her while she pranced around like she was Queen Shit on Turd Island. Bitch, please! Why a guy as attractive as that one even bothered to look twice at Bella, I'd never understand, and she dared turn her nose up at him like she deserved better?

Just who did this whore think she was?

But the Freshman-aged waitress was just falling all over herself to spread the gossip, so I waved a hand that she could continue.

"So Professor Cullen has finally stopped beating around the bush," she said, leaning toward me conspiratorially. "While they were at the counter, he asked her straight up why she keeps saying no to them going out somewhere other than here."

The girl was squeaking. She was actually squeaking.

I felt nauseated.

The girl sighed, looking dreamy. "I don't know what her problem is. He's just so... gah! You know?"

Yeah, I'd noticed. Believe me. He was probably just as much of an asshole as the rest of them though - that's what I'd decided when he hadn't even glanced my way.

"This is fucking stupid," I muttered. I was so sick to death of hearing about Bella. It was bad enough that anytime Jess needed to bitch about the whole situation with that baby, I had to hear about it. I was done with this plaguing me at work. I was 99.9% sure Bella didn't even know I worked there - of course, she couldn't be bothered to know a lowly cook - but she was about to find out.

Throwing down my apron, I flung open the door, headed for the little dining area and ignoring the other girl's, "Amber, what are you doing?"

I saw them right away. He was leaning across the table like she was the most interesting thing in the world. "...just don't understand," he was saying. "We seem to get along so well. What makes it such a horrible idea that I would love to see you outside this building...hopefully somewhere off campus?"

That made me even more pissed for some reason. What was it about this girl that men couldn't see her for what she truly was?

She saw me a split second before I got to their table. I had to admit I felt a rush of gleeful pleasure at the surprise and horror in her eyes. Oh, yeah. She knew what was coming. "Oh, my God. Amber?"

I put on my most sickeningly sweet grin. "Well, Bella Swan. It's been forever."

Professor Cullen looked curious as he glanced at me and back at Bella. "Friend of yours?"

"We, um, we went to high school together," Bella mumbled, looking at me nervously.

My smile grew wider. and I crossed my arms over my chest. "That's right." I folded my arms. "So how's the baby? Or do you need some clarification? How many are you up to now, whore?"

Immediately her hands became fists on the table. She looked livid as she stared downward.  _Just give me a reason, bitch. Come at me._ The only reason I hadn't kicked her ass back then was because not even I would have hit a pregnant girl. I wanted to, though. Hell, I felt like punching the girl just remembering the way Jessica had cried for weeks after she found out about Bella and Mike.

"I beg your pardon!" Professor Cullen interjected, sounding outraged. "Just what is your problem?"

I turned to him. "Believe me, I'm doing you a favor. You should stay away from this one, Professor. Or at least, if you're going to fuck her, you'd better make sure you're the one in charge of birth control."

"Excuse me," Bella said suddenly, pushing out of the booth. She walked away so fast, she was almost running. I took a step toward her, not ready to be done with all I had to say, when the Professor put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's probably better if you stay away from her," he said, his voice so cold I actually felt chilled. When I looked back at him, he looked so furious I took a step backward, feeling a little uneasy. "I'm not sure who you think you are or what you feel Bella's done to you, but that was completely uncalled for."

"You don't know what I know, apparently," I spat back at him, wrapping my arms around my middle.

"Miss, I can't honestly say that I give a damn about what you know. What  _I_ know is this: you are rude, crass, and an unbelievable child."

I opened my mouth to reply, but he raised a hand to stop me. "I'm not going to waste any more of my time with this conversation." With that he got to his feet and strode away in the direction Bella had gone, leaving me staring after him.

Well, that didn't feel as good as I thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Since jfka06 begged me, I wrote an outtake in EPoV of what happened next...so I'll be posting that today.


	8. Outtake EPoV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Dear jfka06. I love you.

My livid anger turned to concern once I was headed away from the cafe. Luckily, I saw Bella right away, back at her post, looking anywhere but up. Even from a distance, I could see her mouth was set in a hard line, her nose flaring as she tried to calm down. Whether she was furious or about to cry, I couldn't tell.

Maybe it was both.

She didn't acknowledge me as I stepped up to her desk, so I called her name softly. She still didn't turn to me. What I wanted more than anything else - more than everything else - was to comfort her. I was just at a loss as to how.

Everything happened so fast; I was still reeling from what that woman had said, how much of it was true, what it all meant.

"Bella," I said again.

I said her name four times before she answered. She slammed her computer keyboard down hard on the desk. "I don't know what you want me to say, Professor Cullen. You don't have to be polite." My heart wrenched a little when she called me by my proper name. We'd gotten past that part months ago, I'd thought.

"Bella, if you think I believe -"

"She wasn't lying," Bella interrupted me."I do have a baby. She's two. Two and I'm 21."

"I know I'm an English professor, but I promise you I can do simple math," I said steadily. "What I want to know is, are you alright?"

Finally, she looked up at me, suspicion evident on her features. Surreptitiously, she wiped away a tear that had gathered at the corner of her eye. "Amber's said much worse things to me."

"I don't imagine you need to be told this, but she hadn't the right to say those things to you."

She looked infinitely tired. "How do you know she isn't telling the truth?"

At that I had to scoff. "She insinuated that you got pregnant on purpose. Nothing short of your own confession could make believe that."

Her lips quirked but she looked down again. "You don't know me that well," she said softly, and I had to fight the urge to run my fingers down her cheek. It was insane how often I stopped myself from touching her.

"Did you?" I asked simply.

"Of course not," she said quickly, her eyes tightening at the corners.

"Well, I'm inclined to believe you. I think I know you that well, at least." I clasped my hands behind my back - the urge to touch her was that powerful. "Bella, you don't make it very far as a teacher without understanding that there are always multiple sides to every story. You know I'm always willing to listen when you're ready to tell me yours."

She looked down, but not before I saw the blush light her cheeks. I could see the way her lips tugged up at the corners, and wanted to trace the line of her smile with my finger. "You're stubborn, aren't you?" she asked, but I thought the tone of her voice was more indulgent than annoyed.

I ducked my head to catch her gaze. "When I find something worth fighting for, yes. I can be very stubborn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks, as always, for your enthusiasm. We'll get a longer peak into Edward's brain very soon. Promise. Emmett tomorrow!


	9. Emmett

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sigh. I meant peek, not peak.

Under other circumstances, I would have found the whole situation hilarious.

I had to hand it to my little brother, he never did anything half assed. After 31 years of being all aloof about girls, he'd fallen hard for this one.

I mean, it really was funny. How often had Edward bitched about the immaturity of anyone under the age of 22, and this girl was 21! Yeah, Jasper and I had a field day on that one. That and after being all 'I don't need a girlfriend to have a life, Emmett,' for years, he was ridiculous about this Bella chick. The more Jasper and I riled him up, the more he would stumble and stutter and generally act like he was some 17 year old kid with his first real crush. Prim and proper Professor Cullen brought to his proverbial knees? Come on. Who wouldn't find that hysterical?

But the situation he was laying out now for our parents wasn't even a little bit funny.

I supposed in most families, the fact that Bella had gotten knocked up as a teenager would have been reason enough to encourage Edward to stay away from her. In this family, though, it would have been hypocritical seeing as our mom and dad had conceived me at the tender age of sixteen. That and my wife, my beautiful Rosalie, had also gotten pregnant at sixteen, though she miscarried that baby.

Maybe it was just a Cullen thing.

Either way, when I heard about what the other chick at the cafe had said to Bella, I was pissed. I didn't know the girl, but it didn't matter. I couldn't help but imagine someone saying that kind of shit to Rosie, and I wanted to hit something.

"If you'd ever told me I'd ever have an urge to hit a woman, I would have laughed at you," Edward muttered darkly.

It hit me then exactly how serious he was about this chick. I could see it in his eyes - this fierce protectiveness. Interesting. Part of me had thought it was just the intensity of a first crush. Edward had always been so ambivalent about women. Sure, he had a date here and there, but he'd never shown more than a casual interest in another soul, man or woman.

I considered what that meant, especially given the new things he was telling us. The fact that she had a kid didn't bother Edward. In fact, it only made him admire her more which, apparently, he tried to tell her, but she was having none of it.

Yeah, of course Edward would fall for a difficult woman. No doubt he was following in my fine example.

I was getting a little ahead of the situation, but it was hard not to think of the effect this would have on Rose if this whole thing worked out with Bella.

See, we'd wanted a family since we got married seven years ago. As fate would have it though, Rosalie couldn't seem to stay pregnant once we conceived.

There was not a lot more heartbreaking than having to watch the woman you love more than anything, the one you'd gladly sacrifice your own life to protect, go through that kind of anguish over and over and over. I had to admit, I wasn't great about the helplessness. If some asshole tried to hurt her, I'd tear him to pieces, but I couldn't shelter her from that pain and it killed me. I'd have given her anything she wanted, but the only thing Rosalie asked for was the one thing we couldn't have.

Now that Jasper and Alice were engaged, Rose was trying to be happy for them, but she went on frequently about how they were probably going to start a family soon. My little sister hadn't shown even a little bit of interest in having kids, but Rose couldn't really wrap her head around that kind of thinking. She insisted it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

So if Edward lucked into an instant family, I could only imagine how much it would hurt her. For seven years, she'd been trying to give me a family. I knew she was jealous of women who seemed to be able to breed as easy as alley cats.

I was torn. I was worried for my wife but totally supportive of my brother. I mean, all kidding aside, he deserved a chance at the same happiness I'd found with Rose - my angel. As much as I was tired of the grief, I wouldn't change all the problems we had if it meant I couldn't have my gorgeous girl.

"So, I don't know what to do now," Edward said. "At least I understand why she's been so cautious even though she seems to like me. I'd imagined much worse than a child in the wings." He sighed, looking to our parents for the answers. "Should I really be so persistent?" Laughing wryly, he rubbed his eyes. "I don't even know why I can't seem to let her alone."

Mom sighed, looking concerned for her baby boy as always. "Well, she is giving you mixed messages."

"No kidding," I muttered. "Even just listening to you, this chick's mood swings are giving me whiplash." I laughed and clapped him on the back. "See, that's even more reason. She's gotta be perfect for you. I say you go for it."

Edward raised his head, looking at me with the expression he'd perfected since he was six and I was twelve. The one that said 'why am I older than you when you're supposed to be the big brother?' "Did I ask for your opinion?"

"Have I ever let that stop me?" I returned. "Come on, Edward. I've been there, I've done that. Obviously her life hasn't been a picnic as far as guys are concerned. If you bolt at the first sign of drama, what good are you to her? Just be patient. Keep being her friend, and let her set the pace."

For a second, Edward looked contemplative. I guess it was pretty unusual. Despite our age difference, he and I had always been close. We could talk about pretty much anything, but I usually didn't have any advice for him. Then again, Edward problems were always more along the complete geek line, and what did I know about being a geek?

"You have a point. Either way, I don't want to stop being her friend, even if she doesn't want me. Thanks," Edward said, smiling slightly.

Guess I didn't do half bad at the big brother thing when I really tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't think you'll ever guess who's next. hehe. See you tomorrow, guys.


	10. Aro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I told you not to guess! Hehehe. JulieToo was the only one who got it.

It took everything I had not to scowl darkly at my mother as I sat across from her at the table, the note home from the principal between us. Normally, it just took a loving grin and a healthy dose of charm to get her to give me what I wanted.

Stupid, asshole substitute teacher.

"Mom," I tried again, putting on my sweetest voice. "You don't understand. It's important for me to have my phone-"

"Aro, that's enough. I'm not going to replace your phone, young man. If you were fool enough to let your teacher see you with it at school, you deserve to have it taken away for the rest of the year," she said firmly.

"But there are things I need," I protested. I knew I was this closing to whining, but hell. I needed my phone. There are only so many ways a guy could take a covert photo, for instance, and I needed the storage space for all the rest of my intel.

"That's not my problem," Mom said, shaking her head at me. "And you're fifteen years old. How much could you possibly be missing without a phone? I didn't have a cell phone until a couple of years ago and somehow, I managed. Now go to your room, and if I don't see some homework done by the time dinner is on the table, I'm putting a lock on your computer again."

Furious now, I opened my mouth, fully intent on telling my mother exactly what I thought of her plan when she lifted a finger to silence me.

"Aro Scarpinato, you'd better rethink whatever you're about to say before I take away your computer all together. You can research at the library."

I shuddered at the word and scowled. "It's just an observation, but threatening to inhibit your kid's education when he gets in the slightest bit of trouble at school seems kind of counterproductive to me," I retorted before I stormed away. Library was a dirty word to me, and I knew her threat wasn't empty. Last year, she made me do a whole paper using only research from the encyclopedia. Like...the paper encyclopedia.

Gross.

Once in my room, I slammed the door and threw myself down in my computer chair. I spent a few minutes grumbling, basically feeling sorry for myself and my situation.

She didn't understand. How could she? I'd gotten my meticulously observant nature from my mother, but she wouldn't know what to do with a smart phone. The woman was a genius, but she could barely figure out how to dial a number on the newer phones. Forget everything I did.

Which was, essentially, keep notes. About everyone.

Information was such a useful tool.

The worst thing about being pissed off at my mother was that I had no way to retaliate. If I broke something technological of hers, I would just be the one she called to fix it.

And anyway, I had to learn to place blame directly where it belonged.

That fucking substitute asshole hated me. Asshole.

Most of my teachers understood I was just too smart for the likes of Forks High, and they left me alone. If my regular teacher saw me with my phone out while everyone else was doing busy work, not a single fuck would be given. But noooooo.

It had to be that prick today. I swear he was eyeing me the minute I walked in the door. Maybe he just didn't like the pale faces. He was probably a racist.

Well, he messed with the wrong kid.

I knew for a fact that Forks High wasn't very good at protecting the privacy of its students and teachers. From there, it only took me a half hour to get into his private gmail account.

Of course, idiot that he was, it appeared Mr. Black had left the default setting to save his chats on.

Mr. Black was boring as hell, but I did find a chat line that caught my interest.

 **Bella Swan** : He knows...  
 **Jake Black** : … Gonna need you to fill in the blanks around that thought, Bells.  
 **Bella Swan** : The professor I told you about? He knows. About Kas.  
 **Jake Black** : Oh. Was he a dick about it?

It went back and forth for a while, and I got the idea that this professor guy had been asking out the Bella girl, and the Bella girl had been saying no because of Kas - whatever that meant. But now he knew about Kas but not everything and...

Jesus Christ. I thought this kind of thing was supposed to get better after high school. Drama much?

 **Jake Black** : Okay, but isn't this all a good thing? You like him, right?  
 **Bella Swan:**  What makes you say that?  
 **Jake Black** : Okay, you're delusional if you don't realize how much you talk about him. You should have heard yourself when you were talking with Tanya last weekend. If I didn't know my wife was in love with me, I'd have been jealous.  
 **Bella Swan** : I didn't say anything...  
 **Jake Black** : You're a little gaga over him, honey.  
 **Bella Swan** : What. Ever. Anyway, weren't you the one who said he better stay away?  
 **Jake Black:**  I can't help that I feel protective. No one's good enough for you and Kas, and I was scared he was just out for one thing. But if he knows about her, especially finding out like that, and he's still interested? One date isn't exactly a marriage proposal, Bells.

From the time stamp, I saw that several minutes went by before Bella answered.

 **Bella Swan** : It doesn't make sense, Jake. He's a professor. A young professor. When he got out of high school, he went on to college. He's an intellectual. I couldn't drink on my 21st birthday because I had to take care of my two year old. This is no different than Mike was - making up versions of me that don't even exist. That's what he's infatuated with.  
 **Jake Black** : Give yourself a little more credit. Any other day, you know you're amazing.  
 **Bella Swan** : Bitch please, I'm awesome. But that's not the point. And anyway, I just don't have the time for dating. It's all a big game I don't want to play.  
 **Jake Black:**  You're doing an amazing job on your own, Bella. I know you worry about messing things up with Kas, but you're just such a great mom. But I don't know... I think it would be nice for you to have what I have with Tanya. Someone to talk to. Someone to let you lean on them when you need it. Is that such a bad thing to wish for?

I heard myself kind of sigh before I realized how caught up I was in all of this. Ugh. Worse than chicks with their soap operas.

But who didn't like a happily ever after?

Anyway, I had work left to do. Obviously, Mr. Black cared a lot about this chick. I thought I knew just the way to hurt him.

You know, besides stealing a picture of his stupid-hot wife for my...er... personal collection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What did Aro do?


	11. Emily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello small legion of new readers! Welcome to the er... interesting space that is my brain. Thanks so much to Nolebucgrl.

"Hey, Em. Professor Cullen is specially requesting Eric for this ticket."

I raised my head from my cell phone, frowning at my cousin, Seth. "Well, he's shit out of luck," I muttered. "I'll go," I said with a sigh, extracting myself from my comfy seat.

Anyway, it would give me time to think about this whole thing with Sam.

Sam and I had had been best friends since before I could remember. Well, him, me and my cousin, Seth's sister, Leah. I don't know, it was all one big clusterfuck.

See, I'd always sorta, kinda had a thing for Sam. He was a little bit older, a little bit bigger and buffer than most of the guys I knew. Always. He was never a gangly kid and as an adult... Well, the word cut came to mind. He was just cut at all the right angles.

But, I was always too shy to say anything.

Leah had all the guts and she got the guy, at least, for a little while. And I tried to forget about him.

Fast forward about a decade. Like I said, Sam and I were always best friends. But recently, he'd been giving me a look, and hinting around like maybe, kinda, sorta, we probably could go out for coffee? "Like  _coffee_ , Em," he'd blurted, leaning on the word significantly.

His text message to me that morning was along the lines of. "But why not?"

Ahead of me, a trio of college kids stopped talking to gawk at me. I pretended not to notice, but I did. Like always, my heart twisted, and it took everything in my power not to drop my head like I was ashamed.

You'd think I'd be used to the way people stared. After all, it had been five years since my face had been slashed open, leaving a really ugly, really vivid, long scar that warped half my face.

And that was why I was reluctant to say yes to Sam. It wasn't that he was still Leah's - that all had ended about three years ago when Leah ran away to Iowa with this girl, Lauren. What gave me pause was that Sam held himself responsible for what had happened to my face.

It was an accident. It really was. Sam didn't know I was standing so close when he swung around, holding a long, sharp knife. A machete he'd just recently found at a yard sale.

Just my luck, right?

Well, Sam never forgave himself for it. After that day, he was always hanging around, fretting, trying to serve me or help me with anything I needed.

So when he started making noise about wanting to date me, I couldn't help but wonder... Was he doing it out of duty? It was highly unlikely I'd ever find a boyfriend looking like this, and while I'd always wanted Sam, I didn't want to be a pity case.

Sighing, I shook the thought away as I approached the information desk. I thought it was strange for Professor Cullen to put a ticket in for a place outside his own classroom, but I'd seen stranger things happen. He was there, obviously arguing with the woman who worked the desk - Bella - who had her arms cross over her chest and looked really annoyed.

"You didn't need to call anyone. I could have done that. Hell, I call Tech Support for most of the professors!" she protested.

He looked appropriately abashed. "I was just trying to help, Bella." He shot me a quick smile. "Hello, Emily," he said politely.

I smiled back at him. "Hey there. I'm sorry I'm not Eric, but he took the week off. Of course. Busiest week of the semester - finals - and he runs away." I rolled my eyes. "So you're stuck with me."

"You see? This is so not a big deal. I can figure it out myself," Bella said, her tone chastising.

Professor Cullen grimaced at her. "Just let her help, Bella. You might not have to write your whole term paper over again if she can find it." Again he looked at me. "It seems Bella's computer was struck by a particularly nasty virus."

"Everyone in Jake's address book was hit," Bella said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have called you down on a personal issue-"

"Hey, it's okay," I said quickly. "Just let me at it. I'll get your system cleaned and then we'll find your paper. Don't worry."

"Thank you," she said, sounding truly grateful.

As I worked, she and Professor Cullen stepped a ways away, but I could still hear most of what they were saying.

"I really wish you would stop helping me. I don't need your help," Bella said, softly but firmly. "I don't want anything from anyone."

"I wasn't trying to insult you, Bella. Quite the contrary, in fact. Just because I tried to help you out, doesn't mean I believe you don't have the capability to solve your own problems," the professor returned. "We're friends, right? This is what friends do for each other."

She sighed. "But you want to be more than friends."

"That is, in this case, irrelevant. This was an act of friendship - not something I did trying to impress you." I glanced up and saw that his lips were pursed in a particularly cheeky grin. "Believe me, Isabella, if I was trying to charm you, you'd know it."

Oh, my.

She looked down, blushing scarlet, but I could see she was smiling.

Edward chuckled. "And you still haven't told me what's wrong with wanting what I want. Why does it seem so...abhorrent to you?"

I almost missed her reply, she spoke so quietly. "You know I can't play games, Edward."

"What will it take to convince you that I'm not playing a game?" His laugh was wry. "This is me. My...affection for you, however one sided it may be, is honest," he said adamantly.

"I think I understand what you're afraid of, but you must know by now... The more I've gotten to know you, the more I find myself... bewitched." He sighed, and out of the corner of my eye I watched as he lifted a hesitant hand. For a moment, it looked like he was going to pull away, but he didn't. He stroked the pads of his fingers oh so gently down her cheek, touching her as if she were so, so precious. "You are such a remarkably strong young woman, Bella. Surely you can understand my attraction."

Holy wow. How was this girl not a pile of goo at his feet?

Bella was biting hard on her lip, her eyes caught by his, frozen. I heard her give a little gasp, as if she'd forgotten to breathe for a moment. She closed her eyes briefly and then looked back up at him, her expression cautious but wanting. "I also don't want to be pitied."

"Pity?" He chuffed. "I don't pity you. You haven't told me enough of your story for me to feel anything besides admiration and curiosity." Again he grinned at her. "If anything, I pity me!"

She arched an eyebrow. "Pity you? Why?"

Again his hand rose. This time he drew the backs of his knuckles across her cheekbone, stopping to tap his thumb playfully at the tip of her nose. "I already told you. You have some strange power over me." He sighed, the sound almost wistful. "You fascinate me, and believe me when I say I am not an easy man to impress. How can I not feel at least a little sorry for myself when I've made my affection clear and you've continued to rebuff me?" His tone was teasing, and I saw Bella blush again, looking down.

"Bella," he began, his voice returned to seriousness. "I am serious about this, about you. I understand the package you come with. I understand that when there's a child involved, there's no such thing as casual. I'm 31 years old, not some college frat boy who's only looking for a little fun."

He let that hang in the air, and for a minute there was only the clickity clacking of my fingers flying across the keyboard. But I'll admit... I was desperate to find out what happened next.

Not for nothing, but the professor reminded me so much of Sam. Sure, Sam wasn't as eloquent by a long shot, but the gist was the same.

"But all of that is beside the point," Professor Cullen said finally. "Yes, I would like to see you socially. However, above all, I hope that I haven't made you so uncomfortable that you would feel we couldn't be friends."

There was another long pause before Bella laughed. "So this is you not trying to be charming? God help me if you ever did decide to charm me."

"My brother tells me I can be quite dour. Would you prefer that?"

"Your brother calls you dour?"

"Well, no," the professor admitted. "He says I'm a moody son of a bitch, but I was trying not to be so colorful."

Bella smiled and then made a little growling noise that even I thought was adorable. "You win," she sighed, resignation strong in her tone.

"I don't understand," the professor said, looking confused.

I wanted to shake him.  _Don't get dense now, asshat._

"A date, Edward." She took a deep breath. "I'm saying yes."

Wow. The gravity of her tone made it sound like she was committing to an eternity as a monster or something.

For a split second, the professor's face absolutely lit up with happiness. He beat it back, tapering it down to a satisfied smirk. He nodded. "That's a very good thing," he murmured.

I had to make myself concentrate because I was grinning ear to ear at that point.

I was a romantic. I couldn't help myself.

As I left the administration building, I thought about the professor's words and what Sam was trying to tell me.

Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to find out just how genuine he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: She finally gave in!
> 
> Huge thanks to my darling girl, jadedandboring. Idk why you're so good to me when I am so spoiled.
> 
> Tomorrow will be a two update kind of day. One is rather sizable. The person in question apparently is a wordy bastard.


	12. Alice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Early update. Why? Why not? *shrugs* It's after midnight EST, right?

It was really hard not to laugh as I watched my brother pace.

"Why did I think this was a good idea?" he muttered, yanking at his hair for the fiftieth time that hour. "I don't know what's … hip. Cool."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I muttered. "She's 21, not 15. Don't start getting all self conscious about your age difference now."

"I've always been self conscious about that," Edward said with a sigh. "She's so young, Alice."

"And you're ancient? This isn't exactly a May/December romance, Edward. This is more like a May/July romance. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. You already know you can talk to her. Your interests can't possibly be that far apart," I pointed out. "I'm sure she'll be fine with whatever you pick. Or if you're so concerned, ask her where she wants to go."

He paused, peering in the mirror on top of my dresser and combing his fingers through his hair. "Do you have something to tame this?"

Good lord. If anything, he was the little girl in this relationship. "Don't tame it, idiot. But do keep your hands out of it."

"You think it's good to go on a date with my hair sticking up all over the place?"

"You don't mind teaching class that way," I returned, again trying not to laugh because this woman was making my brother even more of a basket case than usual.

"That's because I don't care what my students think of my hair." He frowned. "Actually, I've never put this much thought into my hair. Ever." He scrubbed his hands over his eyes.

At that, I did chuckle a little. "No product. Don't you know by now that the hair is a major selling point? It's so unattractive when you can't run your hands through a guy's hair."

Edward sighed and came to sit beside me on the bed. "I feel so ridiculous. Why am I over thinking this, Alice?"

"Because that's what you do when something is important to you, Edward," I informed him. It was actually kind of adorable seeing him all tied up in knots. "I really can't wait to meet her, you know."

He gave me a warning look. "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. She probably only agreed to this to get me to stop asking."

Tilting my head, I studied my brother's face, seeing the twinge of fear there. "Hmmm. No," I said definitively. "This is going to work."

He smirked. "Why? Because you say so?"

"Exactly!" I patted him on the back.

Closing his eyes, he bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose - something I knew he did when he needed to calm down. When he raised his head again, he looked a little bit more like my self-assured, pain in the ass, big brother. "Okay. I'm ready. I think," he said, standing.

"Wait, wait, wait." I looked him over. "That's what you're wearing?"

He looked down at himself and then back at me, confused. "Yes?"

"Uh. No. Babe!" I called out in a loud voice.

"Yeah?" my fiance called back.

"I'm raiding your closet!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wordy bastard chapter coming up later today. :)


	13. Edward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This should be the last time we get EPov. Technically, it was the only time we were SUPPOSED to get EPoV, but someone, I'm not naming names (jfka06) begged. We will get a chapter from BPoV soon. I hope you enjoy it. E is always a wordy mofo.
> 
> Also if you guys would do me a huge favor and send positive thoughts toward Jadedandboring? She's having surgery today.

We'd decided to meet at the university. I'd offered it as a compromise, thinking that Bella might want to take things slow enough that she wouldn't want me to pick her up at her place, but we could always continue on in one car from there. Not that my plan necessitated a car, but I wanted to keep my options open.

I leaned against a brick pillar outside the administration building, unreasonably eager and trying to pretend I wasn't watching each car that pulled into the little lot. Not that there were many cars about. Finals were over as of the day before, and as it always did, the University had cleared out fairly quickly for winter break.

Remembering Alice's advice, I tried not to run my hands through my hair again. She'd said I was going to give myself a bald spot and then I'd really look as old as I sometimes felt around Bella. Though I knew she was kidding, it made me incredibly self conscious, and I was already ridiculously nervous.

Bizarre.

Of course, it didn't help that I was wearing my soon to be brother-in-law's clothes. I tried, but there was no arguing with Alice once she got in a mood. Bella didn't want to play the stupid games people were wont to. If I didn't wear a vest on a normal basis- and I didn't think I'd ever worn a vest in my life except at Emmett's wedding- I probably shouldn't wear one now. But, my sister insisted.

At least I was in my own jeans.

When I saw Bella pull up, though, my clothes were the last thing I was thinking about. I felt so lucky. For months, while I couldn't help but pursue her, I never let myself believe she would say yes. I was just glad she seemed to prefer my compay to the other knuckleheads who asked her out. They were just so...

Young and stupid?

Well, who was I to say? It was a moot point because it was me she'd agreed to spend the evening with and that, however unreasonably, made me proud and very happy. I knew I was probably grinning like a fool as she stepped toward me, but I simply couldn't help it.

"Hello," I greeted softly, resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to lean down and kiss her. That would be getting far too ahead of myself.

"Hi," she said, and though I could see she was just as nervous as I felt, her smile was genuine. "So, where are we off to?"

"I thought we might hit up the arcade at the mall," I said, careful to keep my voice serious. "You kids love the arcade, don't you?"

Bella blinked. "The arcade?"

Her voice squeaked when she spoke, and I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm kidding, of course." The look on her face was priceless, and I laughed again. "I wonder... have you ever had a chance to wander through the old town this time of year?"

"I don't do much wandering," Bella said wryly.

"Well, I love just walking through that area. It's within easy walking distance from here. The shops are interesting any day, but during the holiday season all the windows are decorated. The shop keepers try to outdo each other with who can create the most ornate displays." She looked bemused, and I felt self conscious. "Is that lame?"

She peered up at me from underneath her eyelashes. "No, that sounds really nice, actually."

"There's also a little shop that has the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted...and chocolate dipped everything."

**~0~**

To my great pleasure, Bella seemed to genuinely enjoy the walk through the quaint, older part of town. She took her time, taking in all the details of the displays, often pointing out something that struck her fancy. "Look. Those are penguins," she said, snickering delightedly at the miniature set up - penguins sliding off the snow covered rooftops.

In my experience, it was a rare thing to find someone who didn't have a limited attention span. I'll admit I was guilty of that behavior myself - the constant go, go, go, with my head down and my eyes glued to my smart phone, thinking of the next thing I had to do. Sometimes, though, it was nice to enjoy a period without all that, and I was happy that Bella seemed to be in the moment with me rather than thinking of all the duties she was neglecting.

As we walked on, I was surprised when she reached over, patting my arm to get my attention. "Look, Edward! It's The Nutcracker. Oh, I love that play. I make sure to watch it on TV every Christmas." In her excitement, I don't think she realized that she'd wrapped her hand around my arm and tugged me to her side. I did, though, and it made my blood run warm through my body. I wanted to wrap my fingers around hers but didn't want to press my luck. She sighed again, her expression happy as she looked over the admittedly stunning display. "It's so pretty."

"It is," I murmured, not talking about the display at all.

_**~0~** _

When we got to the end of the square, to the little shop that had been my ultimate destination, I enjoyed the serious look on Bella's face as she tried to figure out which chocolate covered treat to get. There was a wide variety to choose from, admittedly. The shop had dipped everything from the traditional strawberries to twinkies and everything in between.

"Oh, look!" Bella exclaimed, pointing at one of the treats of the month - melted marshmallows snowmen cookies. "Kas would love that!"

The moment her daughter's name left her mouth, Bella's eyes darted up to mine, mirth quickly replaced by timid self-consciousness. She looked back to the display, and I resisted the urge to sigh. I'd had the feeling we were skirting around the subject of her baby all afternoon. "We'll just have to be careful on the walk back then," I said gently, "so we don't break her treat. But what strikes your fancy?"

Her smile returned, though it was a little more cautious than before. "Everything looks good. You said they had hot chocolate?"

"We're getting hot chocolate regardless," I said with mock gravity. "But you should try something else."

After a little more hemming and hawing, she settled on a strawberry dipped in white chocolate, and I chose circle of chocolate covered devil's food cake.

"I can pay for mine," Bella said quickly when I went to pay for the items we'd ordered.

"Bella," I groaned, a little exasperated because she hadn't let me pay for the old fast food toy she'd wanted at the antique store we passed through. It was only as antique as the Star Wars Prequels, and would have made a great addition to the little desk toys and nick knacks she had on her desk at work, but she'd refused to let me get it for her.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "I'm just … not good at this. I don't know what I'm supposed to say and do. This is... Well, I mean, this is technically my first date, so cut me some slack."

I blinked, a little gobsmacked at that admission. She glanced up and must have seen the surprise on my face because she looked down quickly, blushing out of embarrassment. "There are no rules, Bella. But I would like to buy this for us. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I won't pay for Kas's snowman."

She smiled slightly at that and gave a little nod. "Okay."

_**~0~** _

We sat in a cozy little corner of the shop, enjoying our chocolate and talking. To my relief it only took a little coaxing to get Bella to open up about her past, which was limited. Before she got pregnant, she hadn't dated at all, claiming none of the boys in her school ever really interested her.

"Mike... Well, I wasn't attracted to him at all either. He was... he is a very nice person. A buddy, really." She shook her head, looking down at the tabletop. "The only reason I went to the dance at all was because I felt bad that he'd spent so much money on Jess, and it seemed like he wasn't going to be able to enjoy it. Then... it's hard to remember what happened."

She explained about the punch being spiked and how neither of them had realized it. "Maybe I'm one of those sad drunks... I haven't really tested the theory," she tried to joke, but her tone fell flat.

"But either way, I started to look around the dance and I felt... I don't know. Lonely? Different? I mean, in high school, it seemed like all people ever talked about was who was going out with who, or what boy they were crushing on that week." She shook her head, smiling ruefully. "I started to wonder if I was just abnormal because I didn't look at anyone like that, and no one really looked at me. Well, no one that really  _saw_ me, if that makes sense."

"It does," I assured. "Attraction can be very superficial even as we get older."

She looked up, our eyes meeting for a second as she smiled. Then she looked troubled as she stared back down at the table. "When we got to the hotel, he was babbling. I should have understood he was drunk then... the things he was saying. It's all a little fuzzy, but I remember that he kissed me and it wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. And I just wanted to feel ...normal for one minute."

Making a frustrated little noise, she leaned her elbows on the table, hiding behind her hands for a moment. "God, I am not good at this," she muttered. "I shouldn't be talking about this right now."

"I asked," I pointed out. "If it's difficult for you to speak about, I understand, but please don't think I'm not interested in you. Your past is part of who you are, and I sincerely enjoy who you are."

She looked up, her expression dubious. "You enjoy the fact that I'm an idiot kid who got drunk and pregnant with her friend's boyfriend?"

The side of my mouth quirked in surprise. Obviously, I still didn't understand the situation, but I recognized her behavior for what it was. It was a last effort to push me away, send me screaming for the hills, so to speak. "My father told me once that he believes we are all always one breath away from doing something that will rock our very foundation. That's all it takes - one breath, one second, to alter the course of our lives forever. We're all teetering on that edge every day. What makes a person strong or weak, silly or smart, is what they do with the cards they're dealt."

I ducked my head until she looked up, and I held her gaze as I spoke. "My parents, when they were sixteen, were young and foolish. They were not drunk, and though they both knew better, they were not careful. They were so in love - but we both know that teenage love is not all it takes to raise a child. Unquestionably, they made their share of mistakes, but, and if you ever meet him, I hope you won't tell him I said this, my older brother is a good man, a man my parents can be proud of. And though they had him at sixteen and my sister and me just six years later, they've thrived.

"That's what I see in you, Bella. Many people, they go through this life merely surviving, coasting. You? You will thrive. I can tell. Obviously, I don't know your daughter, but I'm willing to bet that she's a wonderful little person. Having you as a mother, I have no doubt of that."

**~0~**

Bella slowly got a little more comfortable telling the rest of her story. She kept glancing at me furtively, looking for judgement. I knew from my parents' stories that one of the worst things about being a teenage parent was the way people looked at them- like they were fuck ups and their whole lives were bound to be a waste. If anything, it made me admire Bella more. It also made me angry, and I had the irrational urge to hunt down and hurt any asshole who'd made her feel lesser. From what she'd told me, it was closer to bad luck that she'd ended up pregnant by a boy she wasn't even attracted to.

As we began the walk back to the university, I had to acknowledge that I was well and truly falling for this woman. I wanted to kiss her, but I understood that she was skittish. What an overwhelming thing - having a first date at 21 with a two year old child at home. I didn't want to scare her.

For all my bravado, I wasn't so much more experienced than her. I was no virgin, but I hadn't had so many partners. As I'd told her before, it took mucht to pique my interest, snooty as that sounded.

Even with my relatively limited background with women, it was a totally different ballgame with Bella. For the first time, everything carried weight. Before, I hadn't worried about kissing a woman. There would be worse things in the world than if the kiss were less than stellar. With Bella, that thought terrified me. I was scared I would mess up something as simple as holding her hand, let alone kissing her.

But something I was also finding with Bella was that when the atmosphere between us grew thick and heady, sometimes it was impossible to not follow the direction of the air.

That was the only thing I could think to explain my actions when I looked over and saw she was rubbing her hands together, trying to keep warm. I paused, taking her hands in mine, forming a protective barrier from the cold. Raising them to my lips, I blew hot air against her skin.

It was one of those moments that, to that point, I'd only read about. I realized what I was doing. My eyes froze on hers and my breath caught, hoping I hadn't crossed a line.

But as she looked at me, a tender, wanting expression came over her face. At first, I didn't understand what she was doing when she stood on her tiptoes, her eyes intent on my face, my lips. Though my thoughts were stark, my body knew what to do. My head tilted down in time to meet her lips in a perfect, if chaste, kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Have I mentioned, I love you all? Cuz I do.
> 
> You might get a third update today. I have a kernel in my head. I just have to see if I can get it down.


	14. Outtake: Alice Redux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Gratuitous Alice chap, since y'all are spoiled and I'm...me. Lol. Huge thanks to Plummy. If you're not reading her stuff, particular Love in Idleness, you are missing out.

"Sugar, you know I'm breaking the bro code in at least a dozen different ways right now?" my fiance muttered against my ear.

I snuggled back against Jasper and merely looked over my shoulder at him, grinning. We were sprawled on Edward's couch waiting for him to get back from his date. Well, Jasper was sprawled on the couch. I was mostly sprawled on Jasper.

"I'm serious, Alice," Jasper insisted when I otherwise ignored his protest. "This is not kosher. Guys don't check on other guys after dates."

"I'm checking on my brother, and you're whipped, remember?" I soothed, picking up his hand so I could play with his fingers. "Don't worry about Edward's reaction. He's known me all my life. He knows I'm meddlesome. If he's idiotic enough to give a meddlesome person the key to his place, then he deserves to be meddled with."

"Why do you feel the need to check on him? He's a big boy. He can manage a date by himself."

"I'm not so sure about that," I muttered, twisting his fingers with mine. I had this theory that the reason my brother was so disinterested in dating and women in general was because it just might have been the one thing he wasn't good at. Somehow, I found myself invested in his infatuation with this girl. I'd never seen him so … fluttery, and I wanted it to work out.

Jasper chuckled, the deep, wonderful sound vibrating against my back. "He's fine," he insisted. "And we really shouldn't be here. What if he brings her home? Have you thought of that? Nothing will ruin the mood worse than your sister and her boyfriend watching you make out."

I snorted. "Okay, have you been paying attention to this story? First of all, this girl took how many months to even agree to a date? You think he's going to get her into bed this quickly? Secondly, hello! How long have you known Edward? He would be scandalized that you'd even think he would bring a girl home on the first date."

Again, Jasper chuckled. "You have a point. I'm just saying. Sometimes things go better than expected, that's all."

Glancing over my shoulder, I gave him the evil eye. "Considering I didn't let you take me to bed for a solid month, do I want to know what you're talking about?"

He grinned his most charming, cheeky smile back at me. "After that clusterfuck of a first date? I was astounded when you kissed me."

And with that, my insides were officially made of mush. I tilted my head back, intent on kissing him as I had that first night, but before I could get there, we heard the key in the door. Jasper sat up, sliding me off his lap so I was sitting beside him instead. He looked nervous. Poor man. It wasn't as if I didn't realize that giving in to me occasionally meant he got in trouble with his best friend.

When Edward walked in, I could see instantly that I needn't have worried. Everything had gone beyond expected. Even from across the room, I could tell his eyes were shining. He closed the door, completely oblivious to our presence, and leaned against it, staring up at the ceiling with this silly little grin plastered on his face.

I kind of liked observing my brother like this - so completely freed - but Jasper must have felt uncomfortable because he cleared his throat. Edward looked around, confused but not startled to see us sitting on his couch. I think his brain must have been in a post-date fog.

"Alice? Jasper? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I had to know how your date went, obviously," I said, hopping up and going to him.

His grin deepened. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Please." I rolled my eyes. "So did she like the vest?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, completely confused by that question for a moment before he remembered he was wearing some of Jasper's clothes. "Oh, Alice. I didn't even take my jacket off. It was cold out."

I sighed. "Edward, as a brother, you are sometimes a disappointment."

After that, I sent Jasper out for beers so I could grill Edward for all the messy details in peace. I couldn't help but laugh at him when he admitted, in this strangely incredulous voice, that she'd kissed him. He didn't even seem to mind my amusement at his expense, but laid his head back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling again. He looked a little … I don't know, out of his depth perhaps. "I think I'm falling in love with her, Ali," he admitted in a small voice.

I huffed. "Of course you're falling in love with her, nitwit. I could have told you that weeks ago."

He looked over at me, seeming a little lost. "Isn't it too soon, too foolish to think something like that?"

I mussed his hair playfully as he grumbled and pulled back. "You know, for someone who has an encyclopedic knowledge of a fair amount of classic romantic novels, you're strangely wary of this whole love business."

"Fiction is not reality," he pointed out.

"Love isn't fictional," I countered. "There's a reason there are so many books on the subject, Edward. Love is a journey, no matter what kind of love it is. You understand the reality of the situation, and I know you know better than to tell her you love her now, when she's only just beginning to trust you. But it's acceptable to acknowledge to yourself how you feel."

He paused, pondering that for a moment. Then he smiled. "You're awfully intelligent sometimes, Alice. I guess you're my sister after all."

Rolling my eyes again, I socked him in the shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Now that's enough for today. *stern*


	15. Jessica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again, big thanks to Plummy for the beta job, and thanks to all of you who sent well wishes jadedandborings way. The surgery went well. Cross your fingers for a speedy recovery.

"Jessa?

I looked down to find my stepdaughter's pretty little face peering up at me. "Yes, Kas?"

She tossed a rather thick looking book up on the couch cushion beside me and pulled herself up. Sitting cross legged facing me, she said, "I wanna wead Mikah a story!"

I had to grin.

Kas was fascinated with books, but not the picture books that most children loved. Though she couldn't read, she could stare at the words of "growed up" books for hours. Mike thought it stemmed from the fact she knew she was named for a book character. She loved to hear the story, and even I would admit that I liked hearing the way Bella told it.

"When you were growing in my belly," Bella would tell her, cuddling the little girl close to her side, "I just couldn't wait to meet you. I always knew you would be so pretty, like a princess. Kassandra was a princess, but even from a young age she liked to do more than put on pretty dresses. She knew there was a wide world out there, and that she had her place in it."

Smiling adoringly at her daughter, Bella would continue, "That's what made me think of you. You were safe and loved and protected inside me, but I used to think that you were very impatient to get out, and be part of the world. At least, I think that's why you always kicked me the way you did, even in the middle of the night. Especially in the middle of the night, my little night owl."

Kas always giggled at that part.

"So, I named you Kassandra, because she did so many things and had so many adventures. Like you, Princess. You'll go anywhere and do anything you put your mind to."

And Bella was right. Kas was an adventurous soul. Stubborn, just like Bella, when she wanted something but, like Mike, she almost never shut up. Still, though she loved to be on the move, doing the next thing, she also loved her books, knowing each of the stories even though she couldn't read any of them yet. That was pure Bella.

As Kas began to "read" to little Mikey, I stared down at my son and wondered who he would be.

It was a kick in the ass, perspective-wise. My whole outlook had shifted. Now that I had a child of my own, I felt bad about how impatient I'd been with Bella in the past.

To say the whole thing had been a huge mess was putting it mildly. One minute we were teenagers and life was going to be a dream. We were going to grow up to do big things. Mike and I were going to get married and live happily ever after. The next second, reality caught up with us in a big way. We all had to grow up, face facts that life wasn't a fairytale, and I was more than a little bitter about being forced to cope with that when I wasn't the one who'd done anything wrong.

I moped for months. I felt so righteous in my anger at the time, I didn't feel bad about how much I verbally tore Bella to pieces. The things I said to her face were heinous. The things I said behind her back were worse. She just stood there and let me call her a whore and a slut and a number of not very nice things. The only thing she ever said to me was that she was sorry, and she never wanted to hurt me.

I knew my friends made life miserable for her, as if she wasn't already terrified enough. Back in high school, when she had to walk through the halls as her belly grew, I was secretly, vindictively, pleased when I saw how often she had to wipe away tears.

Served her right, or so I thought then.

I bitched and snarked about her like crazy, until one day my dad finally said something I'd never forget. "Some day, Jessica Ann, you're going to grow up and understand that the moral high ground isn't as high as it seems. I know you're upset, but I want you to leave that poor girl alone. She has enough to deal with."

My mother jumped all over him for that, but still, his words stuck with me. I think that was when I started to try to look past my anger and my wounded pride. At the very least, I began to see the situation for what it was. Bella was very much alone in the world - ostracized by our peers and looked down on by most of the adults in town. Mike was mostly clueless. The viciousness didn't get anywhere near him, and he didn't know what to do about it in any case. He kind of just kept on keeping on. And I knew he still looked at me with big, love-struck eyes. He didn't look at Bella that way.

Eventually, I understood that it was as accidental as these things could ever be.

I guess it was maybe five months after Kas was born that I even talked to Mike again. It was a sunny day, and he was at the park, sitting alone at a picnic table with a carrier at his side and his little daughter in his arms. I wasn't going to stop, but the look on his face just struck me.

He looked devastated.

So I sat, and we started talking. He eventually told me that Bella was taking Kas away to the city. All of his friends were like, 'Dude, score, you can get on with your life,' but he didn't see it that way. Everyone thought he should be relieved - even his parents - but he wasn't.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he groaned into his hands. "I suck. I'm a sucky dad, and obviously I was a sucky boyfriend. I don't know how to do anything right," he grumbled.

Maybe I felt sorry for him, but after that I started seeing him more often. Then, eventually, we were just together again.

I'd be the first one to say that my husband... could be a little clueless sometimes. He tried so hard to be a good … everything. He tried to be a good son, a good dad, a good husband. Oh, there were times he failed miserably on all fronts, but his heart was in the right place, and he was learning. Slowly but surely, he was learning, and for all his faults, he was a good, kind man.

Back then, when I found him at the park, I was pissed at Bella for making his life harder. I buried the hatchet for Kas's sake; like really, did the whole bitter step-mom thing ever work out well for anyone? Still, there were many times over the last couple of years that I got frustrated with Bella and the effect she had on Mike's life.

Now that I had little Mikey? I got it.

I was ashamed at how I'd acted when it all went down - like Mike and Bella had ruined my life. In reality, they'd found themselves in a bad situation that totally derailed all their plans for the future. When Bella yanked Kas away from Mike, all I saw was how she'd hurt him by doing it.  _How dare she_ , I asked once.  _How dare she take the baby away from her father?_ But now, I understood that it wasn't about me, it wasn't about Mike, and it wasn't about Bella. It was about Kassandra. Raising Kassandra here? Where Bella's peers ridiculed her and her elders shook their heads? No, there were many more opportunities for both of them in the city, a chance to start fresh. A chance to be something.

And then, there was the assumed superiority, as my father pointed out. I thought I was so much smarter than Bella - going on to college like I was supposed to, being an honors student. I'd had a plan, too. I was going to graduate with my bachelors and roll right into my master's. I wanted to be a lawyer.

I still wanted to be a lawyer, but those dreams were on hold for at least another semester. All it took to derail my plans was messing up on my birth control pills for a few days. And, one night when Mike and I got a little frisky when we were far from home, he got a condom from one of those gas station bathroom machines and next thing you know, two blue lines on the pregnancy test.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered Sex Ed and how we weren't supposed to buy condoms from those machines because they were often expired or set up below heating vents that would mess with the effectiveness.

_Bla, bla, bla._

I guess we were all still growing up. If Mike could try so hard when he was out of his depth, and Bella could work her ass off despite all the crap she'd been handed, I could admit when I'd been wrong. The more life I lived, the more I realized it was all a big, tangled mess. Nothing was simple. No one's life was easy, and the fact I had to deal with juggling my family, Mike's mother, and Kas and Bella around for Christmas - which was just a few days away - wasn't as frustrating as I was making it out to be. Everyone had challenges.

Though I wasn't mean to Bella, I knew I could be a bit brusque. Vowing to change that, when she came to pick up Kas, I tried to start a conversation. It was a little awkward at first, and she seemed befuddled by my sudden interest in her, but we managed, eventually.

We talked about school and commiserated about the various types of classmates one typically found in a college classroom - the insufferable know-it-all, the one who asked too many questions, etc.

"So, no school, the University is closed for the week, and no Kas last night. I bet you didn't know what to do with yourself," I teased her lightly.

To my surprise, Bella blushed. "I um... I mean, I kept busy," she mumbled, looking away.

Gossiping was a … vice of mine. I was working on it, but I still had a Spidey sense when it came to knowing when there was a story to be told. "Bella! Did you have a date?"

I may have squealed a bit. It'd been a while since I'd had any girly gossip. Mostly, I'd been hanging out with either other mommies, who only knew how to talk about their kids, or with my school friends, whom I knew were quietly disappointed at the fact I'd popped out a kid rather than roll straight into my career.

Bella was reluctant, but eventually I pulled the story out of her. It seemed she was smitten with a man... a professor no less.

"I have no idea how he puts up with me," she groaned into her hands. I got the idea that she didn't have enough girlfriends around to talk about this kind of stuff if she was opening up to me. "I'm so hot and cold with him. I mean... I've never... I've never wanted something like this," she admitted in a soft voice. "I don't know how to want it, and I'm just so scared I'm doing the wrong thing."

A few months ago, I would have been a little exasperated - how the girl hadn't had a date in all this time, I couldn't fathom. Now I understood. As much as I loved my husband, sometimes I regretted my decision to stay with him. Was he really the man I wanted to raise my child with? It wasn't a completely logical thought - without Mike, I wouldn't have Mikey at all - but now that he was here, I thought my son deserved the best of everything, including the best father.

I did love Mike, but The Beatles could go fuck themselves; love was far from all you needed.

"Trust yourself, Bella. All you think about is what's best for Kas, so I'm sure the fact that you let him this far into your life says a lot about the kind of guy he is." I said this not only to comfort her, but to comfort myself. After all, the tricky situation with step kids was that, inevitably, little Mikey was going to be affected in some way by whomever Bella ended up with.

"I won't introduce him to Kas until I'm sure," she said resolutely.

I had to laugh a little at that. "I don't think there's any such thing as complete certainty in this life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you all know how much I'm enjoying writing this. Loving that you're enjoying it!


	16. Charlie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Apparently, Charlie had quite a lot to say, too. Lol. Many thanks to twitina for beta services. I have so many good people around me, non?

"Dad, seriously. You are ruining my life right now."

I had to smirk at my daughter, and then I had to snort because the whole situation was just too funny not to.

Bella was never a dramatic teenager.

When she came to live with me at the age of 17, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for her to show that pain-in-the-ass, entitled, sassy attitude that most other teens had perfected.

Mostly Bella was quiet. She never gave me any trouble, and after a little while, I stopped expecting it.

That's when life bites you in the ass - just when you've let your guard down.

That whole... thing wasn't funny, not even a little bit. What was funny was the position I found myself in now.

My daughter was an adult with a daughter of her own, and I finally found myself in the position every father dreaded from the day his baby girl was born.

Bella had her very first boyfriend.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me, Bells," I argued, standing my ground. She may have been grown, but she had to know that a parent'sjob to protect their kid was never done. The fact that she hadn't told me about this guy set off warning bells in my head.

She growled, clearly exasperated with me. "Because I knew you'd do this! He's nervous enough about meeting Kas. You want him to meet my daughter and my father in the same day? Do you want to give him a heart attack?"

"Hey," I protested, holding up both hands in a placating motion. "Come on. How good could he be for you and Kas if he's scared by a toddler and me?" I frowned. "Are you sure about this, Bella? About him? Because you know, you can't just be marching people in and out of Kas's life. That's not fair to her."

Her eyes went wide and the way she glared at me... I almost flinched.

"Are you kidding me? Did you really just say that to me?" Her laugh was bitter. "Everything I do, everything I've done for years is for her. You think that's going to change because this is the only thing I've wanted for me in... well, ever?"

She didn't wait for me to answer, but turned and headed into the living room, picking up Kas and taking her to the bedroom to change. After a minute, I followed after her with my tail between my legs.

"I'm sorry," I grunted grudgingly. "You gotta know by now that being a parent doesn't stop you from saying stupid things."

That earned me a smile, and when she looked up, I knew I was forgiven. Then she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You're still not leaving, are you?"

"Not a snowball's chance in hell," I said firmly, crossing my arms as I leaned in the doorway.

She rolled her eyes at me, but didn't argue any further. Instead, she returned her attention to Kas who was pouting, put out at the fact Bella was combing her hair into pigtails.

"Mommy," she whined. "No!" She tried to bat Bella's hands away from her head.

"Come on, Kas. Just this once? You look so cute like this," Bella tried.

I snorted, reaching my arms out for my granddaughter. "Kas looks cute covered in mud from head to toe, don't you, baby?"

Bouncing eagerly from her perch on the dresser straight into my arms, Kas nodded her fervent agreement. She clung to my neck and looked back at her mother with big, innocent eyes.

"I'm pretty," she said gravely.

Bella smiled and ruffled her hair. "Okay, you win. I can't fight you both anyway, and yes, you are very pretty just the way you are, baby girl."

I set Kas down and she wandered over to her play box, looking for something to entertain herself with while Bella sat on the edge of her bed, turning her attention to her own hair. It was strange to see my daughter so nervous about someone coming over.

"It's just that I think you have a lot of other things to think about," I picked up the line of conversation from earlier. "You still haven't figured out what you're going to do when Angela moves out next month. How are you going to pay the rent."

She narrowed her eyes at me again. "What does that have to do with Edward?"

"Well..." Ah, hell, I'd never been any good at this kind of thing. "I was thinking, maybe you might reconsider. You and Kas should come home with me, Bella. It would be one less thing for you to worry about."

"No," she said bluntly.

I hadn't expected anything else so I resisted the urge to sigh and argue with her. Bella was nothing if not stubborn. Nothing short of complete destitution would get her under my roof again, I knew that, but I had to leave the offer out on the table. She had to know she had options.

"Kas, come keep me company out here so your mom can get ready," I called to my granddaughter. She grinned at me and pushed herself onto her feet, running and scaling me like the little monkey she was. I chuckled, holding her to my side as we walked back out into the living room. She sat on my lap, watching TV with me, with her little hands on my face. She liked to feel my moustache, and I didn't mind her grubby hands, so it worked out.

Staring down at my granddaughter, remembering everything Bella had been through, I wondered if I'd ever get the hang of this being a father thing. It was more than a little maddening. Even when Bella wasn't with me, I worried that I'd done the wrong thing not chasing after her mother when she left me. But Bella never seemed to hold that against me.

When she'd moved in with me as a teenager I was way out of my depth. Sure, I'd worried about her before, but if something happened then, it would have been on Renee's watch. Like I said, Bella wasn't a dramatic teenager, but I did worry about how solitary she seemed to be. As much as I loathed the day some idiot boy came knocking at the door, I also wondered if it was abnormal that Bella didn't seem to be interested in dating when the rest of the kids were interested in nothing but.

So when the Newton kid asked her to the dance - as a friend - I encouraged her.

Yeah, look how that turned out.

I thought I knew what a broken heart felt like after Renee left, taking Bella with her. Nothing hurt more than having to listen to my eighteen year old daughter cry almost every night. She tried to hide it from me, tried to say that she was fine and no one gave her a hard time, but I knew better than that. What I should have done was send her to her mother - not because I wanted her away from me, but because it would have shielded her from all the scathing, judgmental looks and comments.

Problem was, Renee wasn't much better than the teenage kids.

To say she was disappointed in Bella was an understatement. It was all so hypocritical, seeing as we'd had Bella when Renee was 19. Bella's relationship with her mother was getting better now, but they were still pretty estranged.

When Kas was born, it was just me and the doctors there with Bella. Oh, Mike was there, out in the waiting room - the queasy son of a bitch - but it was just the two of us when it came down to the wire. It spoke volumes to just how terrified Bella was that she let me be there at all, let me hold her hand.

Afterward - when all the pushing and pain was over - was the most bittersweet moment I'd ever experienced in my entire life. There was my little girl - and she looked so young then, still a child who had no business calling herself an adult, let alone a mother - holding her tiny, newborn daughter in her arms. The look on Bella's face was so entirely awed, so full of love, that I was absolutely frozen by the beauty of the world, and for that second, I thought that things might just work out despite everything they had going against them.

Then Bella's lower lip began to tremble, and before I knew it she was sobbing.

"Daddy," she whispered, and the word startled me because she hadn't called me that since she was six years old. "Please tell me I can do this, please tell me I didn't already ruin her life because of..." She couldn't continue, but I understood. She was scared that everyone was right, and her life would amount to nothing, that she would be a horrible mother just because she was young. I cursed Renee again for putting those thoughts in her head. Maybe Renee wasn't the only one, but she was her mother. She wasn't supposed to say things like that to her daughter.

So though I had my doubts and my worries, I put my arm around her and the baby, and told her that being a good mother was mostly about heart. Bella was one of the most loving, caring souls I'd ever encountered. She'd taken care of her mother and of me to a certain extent. If anyone could make it, young and alone as she was, it was Bella.

Maybe I finally did something right as a father that day, because my words seemed to soothe her. She kissed her daughter's forehead and made her a promise. "Maybe we didn't get off to the greatest start, but we'll be okay."

And I made a promise that I would protect them as much as Bella would let me.

I hadn't been able to protect her from Mike Newton, and she wouldn't let me mess with the kid like I so desperately wanted to. If I'd had the chance when she was 18, I would have done my duty, put the fear of God into any boy who wanted to date my baby girl. If she thought anything had changed just because she was an adult, Bella had another thing coming.

"Stay here," she hissed at me when the doorbell rang, and she ran off before she could hear my derisive snort.

Unlikely, Bells.

"Hey, Edward. I-"

Before she could continue, the man at the door stooped, kissing her. I bristled. The asshole couldn't even let her speak without shoving his tongue down her throat. Classy.

"Hello," I said too loudly, putting my hand against the door jamb and filling in the space. The man jumped back a step, his eyes going wide. Yeah, that fucker knew he was guilty.

Bella sighed. "Edward, this is my dad, Charlie. He stopped by unexpectedly."

"What can I say? Bella makes the best chicken enchiladas this side of Southern California."

Making a face at me, Bella nodded at the man outside. "Dad, this is Edward Cullen. He's a professor at the university where I work."

Professor, huh? I knew Bella had included that little tidbit to impress me, but as I looked the guy over, I only had more questions. He cleared his throat, noticeably trying to pretend he wasn't as thrown as I knew he was.

Well, good. Fear of God, like I said. He'd better realize that Bella wasn't just easy prey.

He offered his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Swan."

I took his hand and squeezed as I shook it. Tightly. "That's Chief Swan." Bella glared at me, and I smiled innocently. "But you can call me Charlie."

"Right. Charlie."

Before anyone could interrupt the admittedly awkward silence, there was the exaggerated sound of a very tiny girl grunting as she tried to push through my and Bella's legs to see what excitement she was missing. Once she had emerged in front of Bella, she peered up, studying this stranger with curious eyes.

Stooping, Bella pulled her up. "This is Kassandra. Kas, you remember we talked about Edward?"

Kas nodded solemnly. "You're speshul!" she proclaimed.

Edward's lips quirked, up and down like he wasn't sure he was supposed to laugh or not. Then he offered his hand to the baby. "It's nice to meet you, Kassandra."

She studied his hand, perplexed for a moment, before putting the toy she'd been carrying in it and reaching out, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Hi!"

He was obviously startled but automatically put his arm around the baby, holding her tightly so she wouldn't fall. "I have something for you," he said, holding her in one arm while he drew the other hand - which had been, to that point, behind his back. With a grin, he offered Kas one of the two items in his hand - a pineapple cut into a daisy shape.

"Ooooh," Kas cooed, taking the treat and examining it.

"And for you," he said with a grin, handing Bella the other thing he had in his hand. It looked like a strawberry dipped in white chocolate.

He offered me a tentative smile. "Sorry, sir... Charlie. If I'd known you'd be here, I'd have prepared accordingly."

Oh, he thought he was a charmer. Interesting.

 

_**~0~** _

I had to hand it to the guy, he was making all the right moves. He didn't ignore Kas, like a lot of people would. He also didn't speak down to her. Bella always spoke to her daughter like she was a miniature adult, and Edward seemed to agree on that point. He seemed amused by her, which was a lot better than annoyed. If he'd acted like she was just a hurdle he had to clear to get to Bella, I'd have kicked his ass.

After dinner, Bella took Kas to the bathroom. She warned me to be nice and I was. I nicely asked him what a thirty year old man wanted with a young girl and a baby.

I could tell he was annoyed, but he answered all my questions with honesty as far as I could tell.

He was nice. Nice, intelligent, responsible, and non-combative about my admittedly intrusive questions.

Grudgingly, I pointed a finger at him. "Do not hurt them," I demanded, knowing he was smart enough to read between the lines. I knew every dad said he would kill anyone who hurt his baby girl, but I meant it, dammit. She'd been through enough. And anyone who made Kassandra cry - whether it be this new guy or her idiot father - was going to pay.

Edward just nodded, the expression on his face absolutely serious. "I won't," he said, and it took another small weight off my chest when I realized he'd spoken the words like he was vowing his life.

When Bella brought Kas back a moment later, I said my goodbyes, deciding I could leave them alone for at least part of the evening. Anyway, Kas had brought out an armload of her things out to the living room to show off for her new friend.

As I drove home, I reflected that parenthood was just the craziest ride. Even though this Edward guy seemed nice - definitely better than that knucklehead Mike - and I had worried for a long time that Bella would always be alone, I was also worried about this new relationship of hers. How would it work out? First relationships didn't work very often, and I didn't want to see her get her heart broken.

I guess it was every parent's wish. I wanted to build a protective shell around both of my girls so nothing would ever hurt them again, but at the same time, I knew Bella wouldn't have stood for it.

All I could do was be proud of the remarkable woman and mother she'd become, trust that she could make her own choices, and always promise to be there to pick up the pieces if something went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Poor Edward. Must have been a nerve wracking evening, eh?


	17. Katie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: To further exemplify my geekatude, Katie Marshall is Eric's girlfriend. Idk why no one ever remembers her. Bella notices her when she "wakes up" in New Moon and she's hanging around fairly frequently. She even replaces Bella at Newton's.

Oh, I knew I should have turned around. Or knocked. Or... done something other than what I was doing.

But it was so... pretty.

I'd always been something of a people watcher. As an aspiring writer, I thought I had to be. You can learn so much, see so much by watching people.

Besides, I had a totally legitimate reason to be hanging around outside Professor Cullen's door. And technically speaking, it wasn't my fault that he'd left the door open when his girlfriend was visiting. And it really wasn't my fault that he'd decorated his office in such a way that I could see everything that was happening on his couch.

Oh, it wasn't that lewd. It was undeniably private, but I'd have fucked the hell off if they'd started doing … that...

I would. I swear I would.

It was all very innocent, actually. They were sitting next to each other on the couch, her head on his shoulder, his head resting against hers. Their fingers were tangled as they spoke quietly.

"Why is it so important to you? There's nothing wrong with majoring in something that might be lucrative," the woman was saying.

"You're right, but I also want you to realize that you have options." Professor Cullen's tone was gentle, and he ran the pads of his fingers down the line of her neck as he spoke. "I believe you'll be successful no matter what you choose to do."

He lifted his head, drawing his fingers up under her chin so he could tilt her face up to look at him. "As for why it's so important to me... don't you know by now, silly girl? Your happiness is very important to me. I know for a fact that doing something you're passionate about makes all the difference in the world. I want that for you."

Oh, my. I was feeling all swoony. It was no wonder she tilted her head up, pressing her lips to his. It was a sweet kind of kiss, oddly sedate. If Eric said that kind of shit to me, I'd be straddling him so fast, his pants would be down before he even got a word in edgewise.

The best compliment Eric had ever paid me was more along the lines of, "Great job, Katie-girl! My girlfriend is the best PVPer ever."

But that's what I get for dating a geek instead of an intellectual.

The girl sort of sighed as she broke their kiss, and Professor Cullen seemed concerned. "What's wrong? You seem upset about something."

"I'm not upset," she said quickly. "I just... I wish this was more equal."

"This? You mean our relationship?"

"I'm barely muddling through my courses, you're a successful professor. You have a savings account. You've traveled. You've gone toe to toe with Charlie and survived without him threatening your life," she ticked off on her fingers.

"I also have a trust fund," he said lightly. "Bella, our situations were much different. I can't measure my success by your standards any more than you can judge yourself by what I've achieved. We've had very different opportunities and challenges... and I do have a solid decade to get where I am." He chuckled. "You've done amazing things with what you were given. If anything, I would say you are by far the stronger one."

He rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly hesitant before he said the next. "As for your father, I only barely survived that little encounter. My parents aren't as gruff, but then they haven't the reason to be. They would love no matter what because I…" He blew out a gust of air. "The only reason I haven't asked if you'd like to meet my parents is that I don't want you to feel pressured. My family is very loving, but I think they may be overwhelming. It's concerned them that I've been alone for so long. They are... very enthusiastic about us."

"Really?"

He laughed again. "Don't sound so incredulous." The way he stroked her cheek was lovely.

"You said you don't want me to feel pressured. Into what?" she asked.

He pursed his lips, tracing the line of hers with the tip of his finger. "I don't know how serious you take us," he finally said quietly.

For a second, she didn't answer, and I think both he and I were waiting with baited breath. Finally, she picked up his hand, playing with his fingers. "I still don't know what I'm doing..."

"Neither do I," he murmured. "This is my first real relationship too."

"I know it took me a long time to make a decision about you, and I'm so glad that you waited for me. You're so patient with me." She raised his hand, and pressed his palm against her face, looking up at him. "I'm not running from you. I don't want to run."

He raised his other hand to cup her face more fully, his smile wide and even in the mirror I could tell his eyes were shining with happiness. Their kisses then were much more serious, deeper, and they wound their arms around each other.

"Is this okay?" I heard him whisper breathlessly and noticed his hand had wandered down, and his fingers were caressing the side of her breast.

"Yes," she whispered back, shifting so her legs were thrown over his lap.

That was my cue. I wandered away then, just like I promised myself I would. I could ask Professor Cullen for a recommendation to this writing program I wanted to get into later.

Valentines Day was coming up fast, and while I was sure I was going to see many, many cheesy V-Day moments - one ore more of them coming from my boyfriend - I would bet I wouldn't see anything nearly as romantic as what I'd just witnessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, I posted this without beta mostly because I needed a Monday morning pick me up. You guys make me very happy and it's been a hard day already (It's only 9 AM! WTF!) So I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> When I originally plotted this out it was 15 chapters and I had two I was debating over. As of now it's going to be about 22 chapters. So it goes! A few of these chapters got away from me. Heh. Just thought you'd like to know.


	18. Rosalie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A lot of you want to see Kassandra's PoV. Hehe. I'm just not that talented. She's 2! She doesn't have concrete thoughts! It would be like "Oh! My pal is here - hey a butterfly, I like winnie the Pooh, and I wonder if mommy's speshul friend brought another flower!"

"Edwah! Edwah! Look! You has to help! You has to help me find a egg!"

I watched, somewhat bemused, as Edward the meticulously neat knelt down on the muddy ground so he could be more level with the little girl's excited face. "You need my help?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I is vewy wittle. What if they's in the twees?"

He laughed, and even I had to smother a smile. "I sincerely doubt my mother would put eggs in the trees, Kas."

"Pwease!" she begged, bouncing in place.

My sometimes overly serious brother-in-law was a complete goner. This kid could have asked for the moon and Edward would have pulled out his wallet.

And my husband would have gone to fetch the ladder...

"What about me, Kas? What if I want to hunt eggs?" Emmett asked, pretending to pout at her.

"You too, Emma!" she said, bouncing over and grabbing Emmett's massive hand in her tiny one.

When I snickered, my husband looked over at me. "Wanna come, babe? We're hunting wabbits."

Almost instantly, the toddler's face crumpled and she started to cry. "Noooo. No hurt the bunnies."

"Nice work, Emma," I said, shaking my head. "You have fun."

His smile fell, and I hated it. I hated how often I made that little, crumpled v appear between Emmett's eyes. He'd been watching me like a hawk all day. I wished I could say he didn't need to, but we both knew that I'd have a hard time today.

"I can stay with you, Rose. No big deal," he said, leaning close so only I could hear his words. Edward was busy trying to calm the little girl anyway.

"Just go, Emmett," I said, annoyed now. Before he could argue, I stood and walked off, needing to be alone.

I reached Carlisle's study and locked myself in. It was such a calming space. Sometimes I could get lost, staring at the paintings on the wall. All of them seemed to tell a story I couldn't quite figure out. It was nice not to have to think about other things while I tried to find the narrative in the images, the way they were all connected.

After a few minutes, the knot at the center of my chest loosened, and I felt like I could breathe again.

I hated being so bitter, but I didn't know how to help it. They tried to hide it around me, but I could tell the whole family was ecstatic to have a child around again. That's why Esme had gone all out, arranging this little Easter egg hunt to entertain the baby.

Maybe it was stupid, but I wanted to be the one to give the Cullens their first grandchild.

The way Edward looked at that girl and her baby, that just wasn't going to happen. How convenient that this girl came with a family package. How very Edward to go from being single to having everything I'd wanted and worked for for years.

Knowing it wouldn't be long before someone besides my husband noticed my absence, I took a deep breath and headed back toward the living room.

Before I could get there, I heard my name, and stopped outside the entryway to the kitchen, listening.

"I, um," the girl - Bella - was stumbling, talking to my father-in-law. "Did I say something wrong to Rosalie?"

"Oh, Bella," Carlisle said with a sigh. "No, I don't think you said anything wrong. Rosalie is just very cautious around new people."

Cautious? Well, Carlisle had always been very charitable. And obviously, Edward hadn't told his little girlfriend much of my story.

I couldn't help my annoyance. Edward knew I thought he was silly, playing around with a stupid little girl when he was capable of catching any woman he wanted. Bella was shy and plain and...

Well, I just didn't get it.

But I didn't have to be so cold. In my heart of hearts, I knew that. Edward and I weren't exactly the best of friends, but I cared for him. He was happy. That's all that should have mattered.

The Cullens...they all thought they understood my coldness. They didn't. Not entirely. Not even Emmett, though of everyone, he deserved to know the truth.

As much as I hated to acknowledge it, I had to admit a lot of my attitude toward Bella stemmed from the fact that I envied her.

I saw a lot of myself in her situation, but she was so, so different from me.

The day after he met her father, Edward came over.

Emmett got a kick out of how pale his little brother got just talking about the encounter. Meanwhile, I was thinking that it would have been nice to have a father as protective as Bella's was.

My parents, when they found out I was pregnant, said they would disown me if I didn't get an abortion.

That was the part Emmett didn't know. After so much pressure from them - and the fact that, unlike Bella's baby's father, Royce was a complete and total asshole - I did get an abortion.

And now I couldn't have a baby.

Maybe the two weren't connected. Maybe they were. Either way, Emmett deserved to know.

Strong arms slipped around my waist, and I sighed. Speaking of Emmett.

I let him guide me back to the living room. He pulled me down on the couch, and with his arms around me, I felt a little bit better. For a minute, I let him soothe away all the guilt and bitterness as he kissed the side of my hair.

"Maybe..." he began, and when he hesitated, I realized he was about to say something heavy. Emmett never thought about his words except when he was about to say something he wasn't sure I'd like. "Maybe it's time to talk about adopting, Rosie."

I stiffened in his arms, and he hurried to continue. "I know you're worried. But just look at Edward. He's obviously crazy about this little girl. Kids don't have to be blood for them to be a part of the family. My parents would love any little person of ours." His arms tightened around me. "And so would I."

For a minute, I closed my eyes.

Yes, I would love to feel a child, created by the love I shared with the man who held me so tightly and carefully now, grow inside me. I wanted to see a mixture of our features on a tiny face.

But more than that, I did want to be a mother. I wanted to see Emmett hand in hand with our child, being led around the lawn to hunt for Easter eggs.

Before I could let myself embrace a variation of my dream, I had to tell my husband the truth. It was only fair that he knew... Maybe all of this heartache we'd been through the last seven years was my fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Eeps. Poor Rose. Thanks to twitina for stepping in to beta. Mwah.


	19. Bella

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh, dear... Bella.. well, talk about wordy bastard. She got away from me. Hope you don't mind! ;)
> 
> Immeasurable thanks to GinnyW. Her beta is so thorough I feel invigorated. (Gee, that sounds dirtier than it is)
> 
> And so, so, so many thanks to all of you. Hit 1k reviews last night, and I want you to know I treasure each of them. I'm SO sorry I'm not review replying to this story. You and your thoughts are appreciated.

Needing to think about anything but Economics for a handful of seconds, I looked up. Blood flowed warm through me, heating my cheeks and my lips quirked up at the corners automatically.

I didn't think I would ever get used to the sight. Sitting across the table from me, his head bowed and his red pen moving over one of the essays he had in a huge stack in front of him. He was so handsome. His eyes were knitted together at the middle, and I could see that he was somewhat vexed. Any minute he would grumble about how this year's crop of Freshmen shouldn't have been allowed to move on to their Sophomore year of high school, let alone moved on to the university level.

Sure, other people my age were hitting the local bars just about now, but I preferred this. It was peaceful - more peace than I thought I'd ever have. And happiness - my God.

It wasn't that I wasn't happy before. I had my baby girl, and I was making my way in the world, slowly but surely. I only had few friends but they were the true blue, with you no matter what kind.

But then, there was Edward.

Edward.

The thing that struck me at first was that he really seemed to see me.

I guess I never understood. Sometimes guys would look at me and see some arbitrary feature they enjoyed - which I supposed was flattering - and decide they wanted a date. With Mike, when I first came to town, it was just that I was a girl he hadn't met before. I was brand new where he'd known all the other girls most of his life. We didn't have anything in common then. The only thing we had in common now was that we both thought our little girl was the prettiest, smartest baby in the world.

It was possible we were biased.

But Edward didn't approach me with smooth talk and a cocky grin. The first thing he asked me, after we were introduced, was how I came to choose this university to study at, what I was studying, why, and so on.

I knew I was interested from practically the first day, but I told myself I was crazy. It was weird. Like all those hormones I thought I was missing activated all at once. I didn't know what to do with myself. He was sweet, interesting, charming, and so g'damn handsome, he invaded my fantasies without my permission.

I couldn't seem to stop thinking about him.

I hadn't been fair to him, not by a long shot. Even though I was very clear from the get go that I wasn't looking for a date, I led him on. When he passed by, I sought his attention, and it was no accident that we ended up taking lunches at the same time and the same place.

For three months, I let him draw me deeper only to run away at the slightest mention that we could exist outside the administration building and the little cafe. I was scared, first of all. He'd become this little niche, a taste of what it might be like to be with someone. I'd never had conversations like this, where we could talk for hours without running out of words. No one had ever looked at me the way he did, and I'd never felt so... I don't know, giddy at just the sight of him.

I didn't want that bubble to pop.

But I knew I'd have to deal with reality sooner rather than later, and he wasn't unaware of my situation at that point - the way he talked was logical enough - so I agreed to one date. Part of me was sure he would go running when he finally realized I wasn't as interesting as he imagined. I was nervous and jumpy. I mean, what adult woman didn't know what to do with herself on a date? Pathetic. And then I did my best to strip away whatever fantasy he'd imagined about me and how I came to be pregnant.

On most days, I thought my story was not as bad as it sounded. That day? I truly felt every bit as stupid and immature as all the gossip mongers back home made me out to be.

He didn't run, and for once, I didn't push away the insanely intense urge I had to kiss him.

Normally, I agonized over every decision, but once I made a choice, it was almost easy to follow through. When I chose to give him, give the whole 'us' thing, a chance, I just couldn't let it leak into every aspect of my life instantly. I wanted to. Most of me was so head over heels, I wanted to throw myself into whatever were we becoming with everything I had.

But there was Kas to think about.

My baby girl.

When I realized I was pregnant... well, devastated wasn't a strong enough word. I got a glimpse of the teenage drama queen in me, because I sure as hell felt like the world was over, and I may have even moaned that I wanted to die. That whole first week I was in a haze, wishing with everything I had that this was a nightmare and I'd wake up in the life I remembered.

Then there was Dr. Snow, gently explaining things I could and couldn't do, could and couldn't eat. I remember distinctly the moment it hit me - this love so fierce I literally shook under its power. However she'd been conceived, no matter the situation, she was my baby. She was growing and real inside me, completely helpless to whatever I wanted to subject her to.

From that moment, there was never a second that passed that I didn't realize that my life wasn't my own anymore. Every decision I made for myself, I made for her. Kassandra had no choice. She had to live with the consequences of my actions, good or bad, no matter what.

Which meant, if I was making a mistake with Edward, she would suffer right along with me.

For another month and a half after that first date, I agonized over the decision. When I didn't have Kas and a few times during my lunch hour, we went out, and he swept me off my feet every time. It felt strangely like all my classic books - like I was being courted, he was so slow and sweet with me. But when he was gone and the blush receded from my cheeks, I would get anxious.

To his credit, Edward never pushed me. He carefully dug for more information, asking more about Kas as time went on, and he seemed genuinely interested, but I still wasn't sure.

The people around me, my friends and even Jessica, surprisingly enough, were encouraging me to take a chance. I felt frustrated because they couldn't understand. Angela was sweet but distracted, wrapped up in impromptu wedding and baby plans. Jake just wanted to see me happy. He didn't have kids, he couldn't really understand. I didn't think Jessica and Mike could understand either because they had each other to lean on, and Mike was just a little more easy going about the people he brought into our daughter's life.

I knew it was stupid of me to get frustrated with them - how could they understand my fears if I didn't talk about it - but I was. Why couldn't I drift in this limbo where I could touch happiness with Edward and still keep my baby protected?

But I'd long ago learned that raising a baby wasn't about the lessons I taught her with my words. Kassandra saw everything. She learned how to treat people, how to treat herself, by watching me.

Edward had made it very clear that he was invested in us, he wanted us. He was serious. He wanted the whole package that came with me, and while he'd repeatedly opened himself up to me, I wasn't sharing all of myself, my life, with him.

It wasn't fair to him to keep us in this limbo. I either had to let him go, or I had to let him in. If only to teach my daughter what was the right thing to do in a relationship, I had to do right by Edward.

The day that I introduced him to Kas, everything went wrong. My dad showed up and wouldn't leave. After he'd put Edward through the Charlie Swan rendition of the Spanish Inquisition, he left, and almost instantly, Kas decided she was going to be difficult. She was needy for his constant attention - I knew she was showing off - and repeatedly disobedient when I told her to do something. She even fought me when I told her to put away her toys and when it was time for bed. It wasn't pretty.

By the time Edward was ready to leave, I was ready to cry. I was sure I'd never hear from him again now that he'd tasted the reality I lived with. He'd seen me stretched to the limits of my patience, he'd seen Kas at her worse, and even had to face down my overprotective father.

But outside my door, his hands, as always, so inexplicably tender and gentle on my face, he tilted my chin up. His kiss was, as always, reverent, and I felt cherished. Hopeful.

_"She's amazing," he whispered. "Truly. And you're … I can't tell you what it does to me, Bella. Seeing this side of you..." He sighed and grinned at me, his eyes shining in the light from my porch._

_I had to laugh. "What? Tired and this close to screaming at a toddler? Come on. Be serious."_

_He'd chuckled. "Life isn't supposed to be a picnic. You handle it better than you give yourself credit for."_

"Bella?"

Edward's voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I looked over to find him staring at me with his lips lightly pursed and his eyes twinkling with amusement. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," I said honestly, long past the point where things like that felt ridiculous yet impossible not to say.

He grinned and stood, walking around the table and holding his hand out to me. "I need a break, and since you're obviously not studying..."

Smiling, I let him pull me to my feet. We only made it a few steps before we were wrapped up in each other, right there in the entry way. When Kas was with Mike, I found it difficult to keep my lips to myself. Call it making up for lost time, but making out with my boyfriend was one of my favorite things to do.

Sometimes I wished kissing Edward was something I could major in.

I sighed into his mouth, reveling in the way his lips spoke to me without words and his fingertips elicited little shivers as they ran up and down my spine. Still a little shy about it, my hands hovered at his waist, hesitating for a moment before I slid my hands into the back pockets of his jeans, cupping his ass and pulling him closer to me.

Edward groaned against my lips, and leaned forward, one hand against the wall I suddenly found myself up against. His kiss was more insistent, and I was instantly hungrier for him. Our lips moved harder, tongues slightly more aggressive as they met.

With a wild gasp, Edward broke our kiss, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to catch his breath. I was breathing just as hard, blinking with confusion because I didn't understand what had just happened, why he stopped. I tilted my head up again, eager to get back to what we were doing, but he pulled away slightly.

"Bella, we need... I need..." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, smiling carefully at me. "Just give me a moment."

It took me a moment to realize what was wrong. When I did, I felt my cheeks grow hot and desire flood through me.

Edward had the patience of a saint. If one counted from the first date, we'd been together nearly five months. He had yet to push me. Mostly, he took my cues, letting me dictate how fast we moved physically which... well, wasn't fast.

I was shy and inhibited as any naive teenager when it came to all of that. With him, I wanted it, but I didn't have the words to ask. I didn't know how to touch him without feeling like an idiot. The way Edward touched me was always an expression of how he felt - tender and affectionate. He always asked before he tried rounding a base we hadn't explored yet and never seemed annoyed when I hesitated.

I wasn't blind. I knew he wanted me. He didn't hide his desire, but he also didn't broach the subject.

And I couldn't deny that I wanted him. I had for a very long time.

Sex, though, was almost a terrifying prospect to me.

I'd encountered the basic mechanics of sex long enough to conceive a child... once.

I didn't remember a lot about that night. Mike started kissing me and my inhibitions were conspicuously absent. I wasn't thinking at all, only feeling. It wasn't amazing, but it was nice. The way he touched me was nice. It felt good. Clumsy and fumbling, but not bad.

Honestly, I was confused as to what was happening when Mike started inching up my dress. It was all over before I could truly comprehend what was going on.

Five clumsy, drunken minutes, and we'd created a life.

Before Mike, there was nothing. For 21 years, all I knew of giving my body to another person was a few ungraceful gropes and open mouthed kisses.

Edward had rewritten all my experiences and expectations single handed. Where Mike's hands had squeezed randomly, Edward's fingers caressed. It was erotic and phenomenal...and always left me wanting more, wondering about more.

So slowly, we'd explored more.

Sex was so much different than the simple touching. I trusted Edward with my body absolutely, but I couldn't help remembering what sex had cost me the first time. I loved my daughter and wouldn't trade her for the world, but my life had been completely obliterated. I didn't think I could stand for the pieces I'd so meticulously put together to come crashing down again.

Logically, though, I knew it didn't have to be that way. I was on birth control - had been since shortly after Edward and I started dating. And I was ready.

Placing my hands at the small of his back so he couldn't move away so quickly, I forced myself to look into his eyes. I knew I was blushing, and I felt so foolish, but I somehow found the words. "I don't want to stop tonight."

His breath caught, his eyes going dark and wide as he looked at me. He caught my lips in a slow, sweet kiss before he spoke. "Are you sure?"

I slid my hands under his shirt, needing to feel his skin to ground myself. "Yes," I said in a whisper, tilting my head up to press a kiss to his chin and the corner of his mouth. "I love you, and I want you."

Those words weren't as scary as I'd imagined, not when they were just fact.

And his answering grin would have chased away any nerves. It was radiant. Beautiful. He cupped my face in his hands. "Oh, Bella. I love you. Very much."

It was surprisingly easy after that. This moment, this night, was only about us.

After five months of such a slow build, it would have been easy to rush. Though I was tempted to rip his clothes off - my passion for him was sometimes surprisingly intense to me - Edward took control of the pace. I was glad, because though I wasn't a virgin, I sure as hell felt like one.

Lying on my bed, he moved his hands over me, soothing and slow. The way he undressed me, like he was unwrapping something precious, made me blush and smile so hard my cheeks hurt. I think I giggled. Being in love with him made me giddy.

I felt a little ridiculous when I was fully nude, lying back on the bed with him looking down on me like I was a natural wonder of the world, or something. I almost couldn't comprehend how he could look at me like that, the same way I looked at him. Because as he looked down on me, just as nude as I was, and stroked the backs of his fingers down my check, down my neck, to brush against my breast, he was beautiful - unfathomably, ethereally so.

That idiot with the plastic bag in that movie had it all wrong. It was a moment like this that made me realize the world was filled with so much beauty, I could hardly breathe.

Though I had never been more certain of anything in my life, when his hands reached between my legs I gasped, and my body began to tremble. I felt like a stupid little girl until he leaned down to kiss me, his every movement soft as his fingers entered me. It took only a few seconds before I was kissing him back, only a small handful of minutes before I didn't care if it was ridiculous, the way I was moaning and writhing under his touch.

He brought me to orgasm with his fingers inside of me and his mouth closed over my nipple. I knew it was because I probably wouldn't come during the actual sex part. Edward always thought about things like that.

He was flushed and smiling as he kissed me. "You're so beautiful," he whispered in my ear a few minutes later. He shifted, and I felt how hard he was. As he positioned himself over me, I reached between us, taking his length in both my hands. It was an incredible feeling, how he was hot in my hands, soft skin stretched over clay - firm and yet pleasingly pliant.

"I love you," he murmured against my lips when we were skin to skin.

"I love you," I said back, feeling him at my entrance. My throat was tight with nerves but my body called to be filled. By him. Only him.

We fit. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. It was one of those moments that I could get behind the thought that everything happened for a reason. If everything I'd been through, everywhere my life had taken me, brought me to this point, then I regretted nothing. Maybe Edward wasn't my first time, but he was my first everything that mattered, at least when it came to relationships.

They said home was where your heart was, and my heart, better or worse, belonged to him. Edward and my daughter. If I had them, I had the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Tomorrow is gonna be fun. See you then!


	20. Mrs. Cope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm glad you all enjoyed last chapter. :)

The best part of my job was the people watching.

There was just something about a carousel that made even the adults feel like kids again. I loved to see the sparkle in the eye of every man, woman, and, of course, the little children that stepped through my line. Some things were simply timeless.

To make matters all the sweeter, the carousel I worked at was in the middle of a mall. I did so very much love watching the flew of families, friends, and even rowdy teenagers that trampled through on a day to day basis.

My long grown kids thought I was crazy to take this job, but it was the best decision I could have made. I had to do something in my golden years.

"When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother what will I be..."

I hummed along as the carousel came to a halt and my giggling charges hopped off the brightly colored horses. I took special care to watch my most frequent flier, a little girl with pigtails and two missing front teeth, as she ran over to the exit.

"Slow down, Tia," I cautioned.

"Sorry, Mrs. Cope," she sing-songed and paused to wave at her father. The man looked up from his laptop long enough to grin, wave, and assure himself his daughter was in one piece before going right back to clacking away.

Once the exit gate was closed I bustled towards the line of people waiting to ride next. It was a smaller line than I had dealt with most of the morning, most likely due to the fact that it was lunch time, and most people were off in the food court getting a bite to eat.

"Hello! Are you lost? Where are your mommy and daddy?"

I looked over to see that Tia had gained a friend, a tiny little girl who couldn't have been more than three, if that. Gesturing to the small line that had gathered to wait a moment, I started toward the little girls, only to be interrupted by the tell tale yell of a frantic parent.

"Kassandra April Swan!"

Oh, my. I hid my smile behind my hands as little Kassandra got the triple name threat from both parents.

As I opened the entrance gates, I watched out of the corner of my eye as the young couple got in line. My goodness, they were an attractive pair. He was tall and handsome, and she had about the most flawless skin I could ever remember seeing that didn't belong to a baby.

The little girl who held onto one of both their hands leaned forward, chatting animatedly with Tia. I chuckled lightly, enjoying the the juxtaposition of the somewhat garbled toddler-speak mixed with the always entertaining thought process of a six or seven year old. It sounded like conversation, but I wasn't sure many adults could figure out what was being communicated.

Meanwhile, the young couple seemed to be in a somewhat heated argument. "I don't know why you're being so unreasonable," the man said. He didn't look angry but his expression was serious as he looked down at his brunette mate.

"I have Kas to think about. I can't just uproot us." The mother's voice was a bit louder and sounded exasperated as it reached my ears.

Tia grinned at me as she flashed her frequent rider bracelet, and I waved her through. She paused, waiting for her new friend. I turned to the couple, holding my hand out to accept payment for their ride.

"How much?"

"Three dollars," I answered as the mother dug around in her handbag, but her husband beat her to, it giving me the money and a polite smile.

"I could have paid," I heard the lady mutter. "I'm sorry, Kas, but you have to sit with us."

"Mommy!" the little girl whined, straining toward her friend.

The woman smiled and pulled the girl up into her arms, patting her shoulder. "I know, baby. Life is hard."

"Bella, I'm thinking about the both of you, of course," I heard the man pick up the conversation again. "I'm sure you can manage, but you don't have to try to handle rent on your apartment by yourself. I would offer to rent out the other room, but it makes more sense for you to come live with me. It's a big place. Kas will have her own room."

I tried not to pry as I helped the younger children buckle up, but I couldn't help what I overheard. I tried to make sense of the words, putting together that they weren't married as I'd originally assumed. Usually, I could tell. Close couples moved in a certain way.

As I came around to their row, the woman dropped her voice, but I heard her mutter the words 'too fast' as I leaned over the little girl who was seated in front of her on the horse.

I did a quick check of their daughter's lap belt to make sure she was properly secured as the man gave his retort. "This isn't fast. My dad moved fast. He had my mother in front of a minister inside of a week."

I coughed to cover my surprised laugh. It was much more common in my youth, but rare to hear of in this day and age.

"They were 16!" the mother protested. This had all the makings of a TV special, and I was enjoying it far too much. "You're telling me they got married at 16."

The man chuckled. "Well, no. But he did drag her in front of my grandfather, who was a minister at the time, and declared she was the woman he was going to marry."

The woman gave a little growl, but she was amused. I could tell.

As I stepped off the carousel to go to my post, I saw the man reach out, brushing her cheek tenderly. "Of course, if you're uncomfortable with the idea, I can be patient, but this is what I want. I won't hide that." He smiled at her. "My father was right. When you know, you know."

The way she glared at him, and from the tenor of the conversation, her obvious reluctance, I wondered if she 'knew' as much as he did. Then again, I thought the harsh expression might be more light hearted than it appeared at a glance. What did I know?

The song started up again,  _Que Sera, Sera. Whatever will be, will be._ As the carousel made its first resolution, I saw the couple leaning toward each other, their bodies bent over the open space between their horses even as they held on to the poles. At the second revolution I caught the man's wide smile before his lips captured hers. The little girl happened to glance back and threw her hands over her eyes so she wouldn't have to see.

By the fourth revolution, they'd parted, and I saw the way she was beaming at him, her expression tender and so in love.

She knew. She definitely knew.

I hummed along with the song, that lovely, warm, mushy feeling making my lips quirk up into a smile. Love had that effect on me, I supposed. Watching them, I remembered what it was like to be young, still figuring out life with my Walter by my side.

Oh, I did miss my Walter.

But he'd been gone for a long time now.

Watching the couple, about to embark on whatever new adventure in their life, my thoughts wandered to the older gentleman who worked at the cookie store just one floor up. He always grinned and winked when he passed my station to go to work.

For some reason, I always imagined he'd taste like snickerdoodles.

Perhaps I'd find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You guys make me smile. Mwah.


	21. Carlisle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, those of you who don't know what a snickerdoodle is, get thee to a Mrs. Fields. It's basically a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon. Quite tasty. Although, Grabadietcoke made me laugh.
> 
> Q: What's a snickerdoodle?
> 
> Grabadietcoke: Something that tastes like an old man!

My house more closely resembled a circus than the usual, orderly place I was used to, but that suited me just fine.

It had been quite a few years since someone was calling me from every different direction of the house.

"Coffee, Carlisle. For heaven sakes, did you start the coffee?"

"On a scale of 1-10, how mad do you think Alice would be if I didn't wear this flower? It's pink! Dad, can't you talk to her? She still listens to you."

"Carlisle, somebody got crumbs all over the couch in the living room, did you know that?"

"Oh, shoot. Carlisle, did Kassandra run through here? I'm sorry, I'm trying to keep her out of everyone's way but she's hyped up. Rosalie, she's probably the one who got crumbs everywhere, I'll take care of it as soon as I find her. I'm sorry."

"She's with my mother upstairs, Bella. Dad, I'm going to get Jasper. Do you need anything?"

"Dad! Did you remember to pick up your suit? Then why aren't you in it?"

For a moment my head spun, and I wasn't sure who to answer first. It reminded me of earlier days with my young family. I remembered having three small children clamoring for my attention, my wife trying to tell me something, and feeling momentarily overwhelmed, like I was too young for everyone to be looking at me with that 'Daddy will take care of it' expression.

But it had been a long time since I was so inexperienced.

Taking each person in the order they had yelled, I took a deep breath. "The coffee is almost done, dear. I'll be right upstairs with it," I called to my wife before turning to my eldest child.

"Emmett, you're a grown man. If you don't wear your corsage and your sister decides to beat you, I'm not going to stop her. And of course I won't talk to her. I value my life, and my face is too damn pretty to be maimed." I patted him on the shoulder, smiling cheekily.

"Rosalie," I said, turning to where my daughter-in-law was leaning in the entryway to the kitchen, "I think you'll find that the crumbs are your husband's fault, as I saw him with a danish earlier, and why he didn't bring enough to share with everyone, I don't know."

I turned to the newest face in my brood, smiling at my youngest son's girlfriend. "Bella, take a breath. Kassandra is fine, believe me. I know this all looks chaotic but this is us in control of the situation. Why don't you join Esme upstairs? I'm sure Alice and Rosalie will be right up."

Looking up at the man who had, as usual, gravitated to her side, I smiled at my youngest son. "Thank you for the offer, Edward. I'd ask you to get donuts," I began, and held up my hand to stop my daughter before she could protest, "but I'm sure Alice would not appreciate the sticky fingers it would create, so no. We'll be fine. Go get the groom."

Finally, I turned to my daughter.

My only little girl, and youngest child, who was getting married today. I felt a now familiar tightness in my chest. Time did fly, didn't it?

"Come here," I murmured, extending a hand toward her. Looking slightly frazzled, she let me hold her hand, and I tugged her into the dining room so I could speak to her alone.

When we were away from the clamor of the rest of the family, I put my hands on her shoulders, looking her square in the eye. "Deep breaths, Ali girl. You know you planned this all perfectly. It's going to be fine. And to answer your question, no, I didn't pick up my suit, you did, remember? I will put it on now, if you prefer."

Alice closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "No. No, that's okay. There's time, I know that. I was just … yeah."

I chuckled, pulling her into a hug. "You're getting married today. It's okay to be jittery."

She hugged me tightly. "I'm not nervous at all about Jasper," she said insistently. "I just want today to be amazing." She looked up at me and grinned. "The first day of the rest of our lives, right?"

"That's the idea," I agreed. "Why don't you go upstairs? Your brothers and I will take care of everything down here."

"Oh, God," she groaned. "Not the best way to calm me down, Dad."

Smiling ruefully, I gently pushed her in the direction of the stairs and she went.

The next few hours passed by in a whirlwind of activity. Caterers and other support people were instructed, last minute alterations were made, at some point, all of us got dressed, though the bride remained sequestered upstairs after her groom arrived.

About an hour after she'd first escaped her mother's arms to play with Alice, Esme, and their 'growed up' makeup, Kassandra traipsed down the stairs, showing off the lipstick someone had painted her with. After we'd all oo'ed and aw'ed over her, it was summarily forgotten as she 'rough housed' with Emmett.

Bella had told me recently that Kassandra thought Emmett was the coolest toy ever... and that it absolutely terrified her when he launched the little girl so high in the air.

Which was why I was glad she was still upstairs with all the other girls. Even I was a little nervous about how close Kassandra's head got to the ceiling. The sound of peels of delighted little girl giggles, though, was addicting.

It didn't take him long at all to wear her completely out. Blinking with heavy, sleepy eyes, Kas ambled up to me, climbed into my lap without a word, put her arms around my neck and went straight to sleep, her breath steady and hot against my neck.

I enjoyed the moment, holding her to me and reveling at how much life had changed so quickly.

Starting our family as young as we did, the early years of our marriage was wrought with chaos. It was a happy kind of mess, but we were busy from dawn to well after dusk, taking care of babies, managing our living situation, and working through jobs and school. Of course, there was the requisite 25 years we spent shuttling one child or another wherever they needed to be.

But, for a time, as our children grew up and went their own way, there was an odd silence in our once very noisy home.

Now, though they were all over thirty, my wife and I found ourselves constantly busy tending to one of them.

Alice had been over almost every weekend since Jasper proposed about seven months before. Jasper, though he had never been unfriendly, seemed to be making a lot more effort to spend time with me and my sons. Well, obviously, he and Edward had been best friends for a long time, but he was trying to forge a deeper connection with me and Emmett.

Emmett and Rosalie were constantly in a state of 'hard times', some worse than others. It was getting better recently, though. After so many years of heartbreak, and Rosalie finally coming clean about her past, they were getting all their ducks in a row, starting down the long and harrowing road to adoption. Esme and I had been with them to several facilities and agencies so far, with no end in sight.

In my arms, Kassandra gave a soft little snort and shifted in her sleep.

What a wonderful and unexpected gift this little girl and her mother had been.

Some might have thought that Edward was the easiest child, but that just wasn't true. If anything, Esme and I had worried about him most. Though he was happy and successful, if he thought we didn't see the loneliness in his eyes on the days when then family had gathered and he was the odd man out, he was greatly mistaken.

Several years ago, Esme and I had come to the realization we might not get grandkids. At the time, Rosalie was resistant to adoption, and their attempts to conceive had amounted to nothing but heartache. Alice had been and continued to be insistent that she didn't want kids, and Edward seemed to be well on his way to perpetual bachelorhood.

"Dad," Edward caught my attention with a quiet voice. "Let me take her. I'll put her down in my old room."

I stood carefully and transferred the sleeping toddler into my son's arms. She grumbled but shifted easily, curling against him and falling right back into deep sleep.

As I watched them climb the stairs, I had to smile, my heart warmed by how natural Edward was with her. He'd taken to fatherhood, such as it was, with more ease than he gave himself credit for. He worried constantly, asking his mother, myself, and even Emmett for advice frequently, not wanting to do the wrong thing.

Just as he reached the top of the stairs, Bella appeared. I saw my son visibly start as he drank her in. She was quite lovely, I'll admit. I'd never seen her hair done as it was, falling in waves down her back. The dress Alice had helped her pick out was a deep blue and set off her skin perfectly.

But it wouldn't have mattered. Edward thought Bella was gorgeous no matter what she was wearing.

They exchanged a few words, too quiet for me to hear from downstairs. Bella smiled at him and pushed up on her tiptoes so she could give him a soft kiss over my granddaughter's head.

Well...

Perhaps she wasn't my granddaughter yet, but she would be. If I knew my son the way I thought I did, his wedding day wouldn't be that far off.

But I did get ahead of myself.

Last week, we'd celebrated Edward's 32nd birthday and Alice's 31st. This week, I would walk my baby girl down the aisle. Next week, we would all help Edward get Bella and Kassandra moved in.

"Hey, Dad, you know the groom who was 'zen' an hour ago? Well, he's climbing the walls now. Help me calm him down?"

"I'll be right there, Emmett."

Yes, life was busy.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Moving day coming up next, but from whose PoV? Hmmmm.


	22. James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A couple of you guessed the mover. You were right! Woo. :)

"This girl has nothing, James. Even her books are shabby." Laurent scoffed. "We're not gonna get more than our normal wages out of this."

I rolled my eyes at him and leaned across the console of the truck. "That's the problem with you. You have no vision. It's not about where she's leaving, it's where she's going. I checked out the delivery address. It's a smallish place but it's in a real swanky neighborhood." I snickered. "There's no limit to how much you can get with your legs wide open, I guess."

Laurent snorted. "You're right. Seems like this," he consulted the paperwork, "Edward Cullen footed the bill for this little move. What a schmuck."

"Whatever. Let's get going."

Honestly, this chick's things could have fit in a nice sized Ford. How lazy did you have to be tohire movers for such a small job? And if this Cullen was idiot enough to pay to spoil her, well, I figured it was just fair that I got a bite of that pie since I worked my ass off.

We drove to the place, which like I said was small for this neighborhood, but nice. I knew the guy had to be well off to afford anything in this zip code.

Laurent whistled as we pulled up to the curb. "There are quite a few people here. Maybe we should lay off this one."

"Nah," I said, smacking him on the arm. "A little challenge is healthy sometimes. Let's go."

We walked up to the house where a preppy looking motherfucker answered the door.

"It's all fairly straight forward," he explained, wrapping his arm around a pretty little brunette that came up beside him. "Anything labeled Bella can go in the master bedroom which is up the stairs, directly to the right." He pointed, apparently unsure that I could understand English. Asshole. "Kassandra's room is just down the hall to the left. And that god-awful couch that Bella refuses to give up," he paused to grin at the brunette who scrunched up her nose at him, "can go in the rec room, just through there."

"You got it, boss," I said, nodding at him as Laurent and I turned to head back out the door.

"I'm not trying to be silly," I heard the brunette tell him. "It's just... that was the first piece of furniture I ever bought."

"I know, sweetheart, I was just teasing you."

Well, wasn't that just precious.

The first couple of passes into the master bedroom, Laurent and I looked around. I caught his eye and nodded slightly in the direction of the dresser. It looked like there were a few spendy items that would be easy to grab. Those cuff links looked expensive.

Fucking cuff links. I shook my head. Excessive bullshit.

"I'll grab them," Laurent said as we bent over a particularly heavy box. "You keep lookout."

Nodding, I moved carefully through the house.

The other bedroom, the little girl's room, was the most crowded. An older looking woman held a little brown haired girl in her arms. The girl looked like she'd just been on a crying jag. Her face was all red and she had two fingers stuffed in her mouth.

"Don't you want your own bed, Kas?" the woman asked.

"No!" the baby whined. Ugh. I hated children. "My mommy. Not Edwah's."

Snickering, a younger, dark haired woman stood from where she'd been hanging some Disney cartooney shit on the walls and walked over to the kid. "Oh, Kas. See the thing is, Edward isn't as brave as you are. He's a big ol' scardey cat. If your mommy isn't there to protect him."

The two guys, setting up a fancy schmancy little person's bed, laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world, and I backed away.

What a crock. If I had a kid, you'd bet your ass the little shit would be doing whatever the fuck I told them to or they were getting their ass kicked.

At the bottom of the stairs, I could hear the preppy motherfucker and his brown haired whore talking.

"-just worried about tonight. Kas has never slept anywhere but in a crib in my room."

"It's healthier for her to get a little independence from you, Bella."

There was a pause before the man continued. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's not my place."

"No," the brunette said with a sigh. "No. It is your place. This is only going to work if we're partners. It's not fair of me to make you completely powerless when it comes to Kas. It's just... a lot to get used to."

"I know this isn't easy for you," he said, all soft and gentle and … what a pussy. "She can sleep with us for a while if that's what you prefer. I don't mind."

"No. It's not an easy thing to think about, you're right, but we've already set her expectations. It wouldn't be good to back down now. But if she gets scared?"

"Then the bed is big enough for three."

Touchy feely bullshit.

Turning around the corner, I quickly forgot about that nauseating display of a man not in control of his own domain when I saw a purse resting on the kitchen table.

All open.

And alone.

Bingo.

Just as I got my hands on it, I suddenly found myself being propelled to the side and then pushed up against the wall. "What the fuck!"

"Bad news, asshole," a voice growled and I looked over my shoulder to find the burly guy who'd been up in the little girl's room before was right behind me. And he looked pissed. "The guy you're trying to steal from? His brother is an off duty police officer." He yanked my arms back and I felt what could only be handcuffs being slapped around my wrists. "You have the right to remain silent..."

Ah, fuck.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to jfka06 for looking this over for me. See y'all tomorrow!


	23. Esme

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A few of you wanted to know why James is always the bad guy.
> 
> Ermm. Cuz he's a bad. Guy?

It didn't matter how grown up they got, having my children back under my roof was always comforting.

Oh, my children. Maybe it was easier when they were grown than when they were little, but it sometimes amazed me how much I could worry for them still. And how they, over thirty years later, constantly surprised me.

I wandered into my living room to find my youngest son fast asleep on the couch with his head cradled on Bella's lap and three year old Kassandra sprawled on top of him. She had a text book propped open on the arm of the couch and was holding it steady with one hand while she twirled a lock of Edward's hair around the finger of her other. I paused a moment to admire the sight.

It had been over a year since Bella had wandered into my son's life, unexpected but welcome. It was a little less than a year since their first date, and Edward had confessed to me that he couldn't imagine his life without her ever again.

I understood the feeling. Every teenager thought they knew everything, and I thought I knew what my life had in store for me.

And then I met Carlisle.

Romanticize it all you wanted, meeting your soul mate at sixteen was not an easy situation. But then, I'd never been brought up to believe that life was supposed to be easy.

And the rewards were more than I ever could have imagined. Better.

Bella looked up just then, catching me watching her little family. She put her book down and smiled at me.

"Hello, dear," I greeted softly, sitting in the armchair next to the couch they were occupying. "How is it that you're exempt from the food coma?"

She gave me a wry look. "A nap is something only Kas gets." She looked down, grinning adoringly at my son. "And Edward, I guess. But I suppose he's earned it. Finals will sneak up on me sooner rather than later. He gets to do all the work after the finals are turned in." She winked at me. "Then I get to go to sleep while he has to read papers riddled with errors and improper English.

I chuckled. "I guess it all evens out, then."

Her expression turned serious. "Does it?" she wondered out loud.

I'd been a mother long enough to be able to tell when one of my kids needed to talk something out, even the ones I hadn't given birth to. "What's on your mind, Bella?"

She sighed and turned to me. "Thinking about the future, that's all. Edward talks about us getting married."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, keeping all judgment from my tone. Of course I wanted to see Edward's wedding day. It was, to me, a foregone conclusion, but I knew Bella had different views.

"It's not a bad thing," she answered softly. "I can't imagine there will be a time when I'd want to be without him, I'm just... well, I'm worried."

"About?"

She rolled her eyes. "Kas, of course."

"Well, I figured as much," I chuckled.

"It brings up a lot of questions I didn't think I'd ever really have to consider." I saw her blush scarlet. "And honestly, the one that gets me the most is the one that's... me getting really far ahead of myself."

"Like what?" I prompted, amused by her apparent embarrassment. By then, I knew Bella well enough to understand that she didn't blush if the situation was truly serious, so I wasn't worried.

"Well, being with Edward... it automatically opens up a whole bunch of plans I'd never... planned for. I thought that Kas would be an only child, but it's only natural to think Edward will want kids of his own.

"So I have all these questions running around in my head now," she admitted. "Is it fair to Kas? Having a baby with Edward would be so different than how she was raised. He's wonderful with Kas, but would he be different with his own kid? And could I..." she stumbled, looking at me somewhat sheepishly. "Sometimes I wonder if I could ever love another child the way I love Kas. I know. That sounds so horrible. But she's my little girl. It was just us against the world for a long time."

"I don't think it sounds horrible," I assured her. "And you're not wrong to think that way. You won't love any other child the way you love Kas. You'll love them all differently. Not less, but different."

She looked disgruntled, and I hurried to continue. "Emmett... Well, Emmett had a much different upbringing than Edward and Alice did. He was our baby, and we grew up together in many ways. Maybe it was that we were so young or maybe any first time parent would have made as many mistakes as we did. It's like anything else, you live and learn."

"Emmett is a really great guy."

I grinned and nodded. "He is," I agreed. "But we were harder on him. I think we were determined he would be perfect, since everyone around us was telling us we would fail as parents."

Bella scoffed. "Yeah. I know what that feels like."

"Not only that, but we were very near destitute. Carlisle's father disowned him and my parents were no help. Eventually, things worked out and life was a lot easier, financially, when Edward arrived.

"When Emmett was about seventeen all the way up through his mid-twenties, he hit a bit of a wild stage." I shook my head, smiling fondly. "I think he was determined to be everything we'd told him not to. Ironically enough, Carlisle and I were convinced he was going to make us grandparents before we were 35.

"Anyway," I waved my hand. "I think what I'm trying to say is that yes, it's going to be different from child to child. Even Edward and Alice, though they were born only a year apart, had very different experiences. Alice was very sick when she was small, you see."

Bella's eyes widened. "I didn't know that."

I nodded, remembering with amazing clarity how very helpless I felt. My baby. My only girl was so close to dying. Her heart had actually stopped in the ambulance when she was a year old.

Quickly, I shook the thought away. "I'm not surprised. Edward doesn't like to talk about it. He and Alice shared such a bond. Either way though, with what was going on with Alice, Edward probably didn't get as much attention as a very young child deserves.

"I see it with each of them, the effects of who I was when they were born and as I grew. But I think that's just life, Bella," I said, reaching over to pat her hand. "We do the best we can. And I do believe my husband and I raised three amazing individuals. And you know I think Kassandra is incredible." I couldn't help but smile at her, probably a little too widely. "May I say, I can't wait to meet any little people you and Edward bring into the world."

Her answering smile was shy. "Esme, you wouldn't be you if you didn't."

I chuckled. "I'm sorry. To tell you the truth, I feared for a long while that Edward would always be alone. It worried me."

"Well, it's scary sometimes...how I feel for him, and how much life has changed in such a short amount of time. But... I think I'll keep him." Her grin was cheeky.

"So," came a rumbling, still half-asleep voice that made both Bella and I start. "Does that mean if I ask you to marry me, you'd say yes?"

Edward opened one eye to look up at his girlfriend, a sleepy smile on his face.

"You're so bad," Bella chastised.

"Hello? It's not as though you were being that quiet, and you know I'm a light sleeper," he teased her. "So? Will you marry me?"

"Tomorrow?" she asked, and I understood she meant soon.

He lifted one hand from Kas's back to cup Bella's cheek and he chuckled. "If I thought I could marry you tomorrow, I would have asked you weeks ago. Marry me?" he asked again, and my breath caught.

Bella grinned at him. "Yeah, I think I will."

Knowing they'd probably forgotten they had an audience - Edward and Bella were just like that sometimes - I stood and slipped away quietly, looking over my shoulder just as Bella leaned down to kiss my son soundly.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Special thanks to Barburella for this.
> 
> Well folks, tomorrow is technically the final chapter. However, I have been convinced to write an Epilogue. It will be totally gratuitous, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway!


	24. Katrina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to TwiTina for looking this one over. Mwah!

That was the worst thing about being 18. There I was , a week into the summer break  _before_ my first semester of college, away from the folks for the first time, and everyone kept telling me that I had my whole life ahead of me. I could do anything, be anything. The problem with that? I had my whole life ahead of me! Everything was still on my to be done list, and I was impatient.

"So, it's all fairly simple. Do you have any questions?"

I turned to the woman training me and smiled. Bella was a picture of where I wanted to be at her age. Well, I guess a little before her age. She'd told me she was 24 and had graduated just the day before with a degree in Women's Studies, which is what I wanted to pursue, with a minor in business. She'd told me she was quitting this job to go work for a rape crisis center.

Her desk told so much of her story, if you dodged around the nick-knacks and fast food toys. There were five pictures. Five pictures that told so much about who she was.

There was one of her looking much too young to have the adorable baby - maybe she was a year old - she held in her arms. She was tucked under the arm of an older man with a bitchin' mustache. Her expression, as she looked at the camera, was strangely cautious, her shoulders slightly hunched as if she expected to be yelled at at any moment. She was smiling but it didn't look like she was happy.

What a difference the other pictures made.

In one, Bella stood with a very tiny baby in a Christening gown next to a lovely black-haired woman with glasses, and a man who was obviously the baby's father. Her baby - now a toddler, stood beside her, grinning and standing on her tip-toes to look at the baby, holding the hand of the tall, handsome man with tousled bronze hair that appeared in the rest of the pictures.

There was one of them sitting side by side in a comfortable looking living room, surrounded by other people and smiling faces. Everyone else was looking around. They were looking at each other.

A fourth photo showed them at what looked like a bonfire at the beach, surrounded by big, buff looking guys. The bronze haired man looked dubious in the picture, and Bella was laughing, like she was laughing at him in that familiar way girlfriends and boyfriends were allowed. Their hands were entwined.

The fifth photo was the couple alone. They were on the grass on a sunny day, maybe in a park. She sat on his lap, her head inclined backward on his shoulder as she looked up at him. He looked back down, his expression happy and so utterly adoring it almost made my heart break. He had the most beautiful smile.

"Yeah, I have a question," I said, picking up the last photo. "What's your boyfriend's name, and does he have a brother?"

She looked startled for a moment, and then laughed lightly, turning her attention back to taking the clumsy child-drawings that dotted her little wall and putting each paper lovingly in the box she was packing.

Before she could answer, the door at the main entrance opened. There weren't a lot of people around, seeing as school wasn't in session, so it caught both our attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella smile widely.

I could see why. The bronze-haired boyfriend was walking our way, deep in conversation with another man in a suit. A little girl - the girl from the photos grown up to about five years old now - held his hand, bouncing as they walked.

"Bella!" the other man greeted, and I was torn away from the bronze haired man by the booming yet pleasing tone from the man in the suit.

Good, God.

He was hot.

And the grin on him...

"I was just telling Edward congratulations. I'm sorry I couldn't attend last night." He chuckled and my knees felt weak. "It would have been a sight to see. That's the first graduation party I've heard of that was also a wedding reception."

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes at her husband, Edward. "Yes, well... I told Edward years ago I would marry him after I graduated."

"If I could have, I would have married her the second after Dean Winchester handed her the diploma," Edward said, his expression dead serious. Turning his attention momentarily toward the little person who was tugging on his jacket, he swooped, pulling the little girl up and setting her on the edge of the desk.

"I was a flower girl!" the girl declared excitedly, nodding her head at me enthusiastically.

"I'll bet you looked so pretty," I said sincerely.

She nodded, her tiny face serious. "I was very pretty, but Mommy was prettiest."

"This child is a genius," Edward declared.

Bella shook her head. "Katrina, this is my um, my husband, Edward Cullen." You could tell she wasn't used to the word, the way she stumbled. "He's in the English department."

He took my hand and shook it warmly. "It's a pleasure," he said, smiling easily. If I wasn't so stuck on stupid by the man by his side, I'd have been all ooey gooey warm inside with that smile. Maybe he was a lot older than me, but he was still hot.

That other guy was hotter though.

Then again, guys who were married automatically lost hotness points.

_Please don't be married, please don't be married, please don't be married._

Edward noticed my straying eyes, and his lips quirked. "And this is Garrett Larson. He's the one taking Jasper's place, Bella," he nodded at his wife. "Since Jasper decided he was going to take an extended leave to gallivant around the country."

I shook his hand and an electric spark went through my body.

I thought I saw him catch his breath. He cleared his throat. "Ah, a little static today," he mumbled. "It's very nice to meet you, Katrina." No wedding band.

But he was a professor, and I was just a stupid kid. This was the set up of a porno, not a romance.

But... he was so... gah!

"I know. I mean..." Wow, my tongue wasn't working. "Yes, it's very nice to meet you Professor Larson."

I looked over at Bella as she stepped around the desk that was now mine and put her arm around Edward - Professor Cullen's - waist, ruffling the little girl's hair with her free hand.

She had everything I wanted in life. A gorgeous family, a degree in the bag, and a worthwhile job.

Then I looked at Garrett, noticing he was eyeing me in this curious, alluring way.

My adventure was just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I'll save all the mooshy stuff for the epilogue tomorrow, but I love you guys. Really.


	25. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Horray to all of you who caught my Supernatural reference. I couldn't help myself at all...
> 
> This chapter is un-beta'ed (I have a case of the belated Mondays since I didn't work yesterday), so I apologize in advance for any silly mistakes.

**~Charlie~**

"Grandpa!"

The door to the Cullen house opened to reveal my smiling granddaughter who promptly hurled herself into my arms.

"Ooof," I huffed as her solid weight hit me. "You're getting too big for tackle hugs, Kas," I informed her, lifting her up anyway. At seven she still wasn't too big to be carried around like this, but she would be soon so I was taking advantage while I still could.

Kas giggled. "Guess what!"

"What's that, baby?"

"Gramma made cookies. Our favorite!" she said excitedly.

"Oatmeal raisin?" Maybe I was an old man, but my mouth still watered at the thought of biting into an oatmeal raisin cookie. Not a lot of pleasures greater than that, and I found it strangely pleasing that my granddaughter shared my sweet tooth. Her eyes were wide as saucers just talking about it.

I chuckled and set her down as I stepped into the huge house, heading toward the commotion.

In Carlisle and Esme Cullen's house, there was always a commotion. Today, it looked like the whole family was here.

"Hey, Dad," my daughter greeted me as I stepped into the living room area. She'd been resting with her head on her husband's shoulder but stood to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

I held her at arm's length. "You feeling okay, Bella?" I asked, noticing she looked unusually pale and tired.

When she smiled, her eyes had an odd gleam to them. "I'm fine," she assured, and stepped back so the rest of them could have their chance at me.

Even after all these years, it was still a little uncomfortable, how touchy-feely the Cullens were. It was hard to get used to how every member of the family had a hug or a handshake every time they saw me.

Still, I could be appreciative, for Bella and Kas's sake especially. It was nice for Bella to have in-laws who were so inclusive.

My mother-in-law, Renee's mother, was a bitch.

It was clear the Cullens considered Bella and Kas a part of them even without the blood relation. I was especially glad that Kas got a grandma out of the deal. Mrs. Newton was the kind of woman who made her grandchildren call her Karen because she couldn't face the facts she was a grandmother.

Once I was properly greeted, things settled down. Kas ran off to play with Irina and Vasilii, the girl and boy that Rosalie and Emmett had adopted from Russia a few years back.

"Yo, Chief. Game's about to start. Come on," Emmett called, jerking his head toward Carlisle's gigantic flatscreen.

The game was getting really good. Emmett, Jasper, and I were getting a little rowdy, yelling and whooping at the screen while Carlisle and Alice laughed at us. Just as the team we were rooting made a truly incredible score, Emmett jumped up, grabbing Bella as she passed and spinning her around wildly while he whooped.

"Emmett! For the love of God, be careful!" Edward cried, sounding more furious than I'd ever heard him. He raced to Bella's side, grabbing her away from his brother and wrapping an arm around her. "You could have..."

He stopped abruptly, and I don't think any of us were paying attention to the game anymore.

Edward's hand was splayed in a protective, possessive gesture over my daughter's stomach.

Bella was giving her husband the evil eye, and Edward was looking apologetically sheepish. Everyone else seemed frozen.

It was Emmett's booming laugh that interrupted the sudden silence. "We're having a baby?"

Edward rolled his eyes. " _We're_  having a baby. Yes," he said, and it was impossible not to see the pride and light in his eyes. Oh, yeah, he was ecstatic.

Of course, I wasn't concerned with how Edward felt. As everyone cheered and whooped and started congratulating and hugging the couple, I tried to gauge the expression on Bella's face.

It was hard not to remember the way this all went down the first time. I came home from work that Bella had cooked, as usual. She didn't even touch her food, didn't look up at me the entire meal, and though I usually didn't pry, she made me nervous enough that I demanded she tell me what was wrong.

She burst into tears. Bella wasn't prone to hysterics, so I was as terrified as I'd ever been, and I've had a gun pulled on me. It was a full five minutes before she could stop sobbing long enough to get the words, "I'm pregnant," out.

This situation, though, was a far cry from that.

As she was passed from Cullen to Cullen, I could see she was smiling. No, more than that, she had that glow that people always talked about.

I always thought they were full of crap when they said it, but looking at Bella, I finally understood. She was happy. Completely happy. And her husband couldn't take his eyes off her. That wasn't atypical, but he seemed even worse than usual.

Edward Cullen wasn't Mike Newton, and Bella wasn't a high school kid anymore. I'd had to remind myself of that more than once over the last few years. Mike looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole and die - and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to help him there. Edward looked like he would have shouted their news from the rooftops.

Babies were supposed to be a good thing, a happy thing. As Bella finally escaped the arms of the Cullens, looking toward me, I could feel the beginnings of a smile tugging at my lips.

"Hey," she said softly, her tone almost shy. I guess telling your dad you were pregnant was always a little uncomfortable.

"Congratulations, kid," I said, pulling her toward me for a hug.

And I was happy for her. She'd finally gotten here on her own terms

_**~Kassandra - 8 Months Later~** _

"Mommy said you're gonna have a new sister."

"Uh-huh," I nodded at my little brother.

"She said that's why your mommy is so fat!"

I shoved him, but only a little. "Mommy is not fat! The baby has to live in her belly, that's all."

Mikey scrunched up his face. "That's weird." He stood up and lifted his shirt, looking down at his tummy. "Can babies live in my belly?"

Sometimes Mikey could be so dumb. "No. You're a boy," I informed him. "Only girls can get babies."

"Oh." He went back to playing with his Legos for a minute but then he had more questions. "Are you sure it's a sister? I'd rather have a brother."

"Ewww. Not another stinky brother." He made a face at me, and I laughed at him. "It doesn't matter anyway. Edward said that new babies are too, um..." I tried to remember the word Edward- who said lots of words I didn't know - used to describe the new baby. Fraggle? No, that wasn't right. "He says they don't like playing," I decided finally. "They can't even hold their head up. It's going to be boring until she's a little older."

I frowned because Edward said that Mommy would need to be with the new baby a lot, and I would have to have patience.

"That's okay, though," I went on. "Mommy said we can still have girls days, and the baby isn't invited until she's older."

"Oh," Mikey said, nodding. "I bet I know how girls get babies. It's because Edward always kisses your mommy like this!" He stuck his tongue out and waggled it around making all sorts of stupid noises.

"Ewww! Na-uh. Don't be stupid. Edward kisses Mommy more nice, like this." I kissed my hand without all the tongue and noises. "And anyway. If that was true, then that means Daddy kissed my mommy like that, and your mommy like that, and that's gross."

Again Mikey scrunched up his nose. "Yeah," he agreed. "That's gross."

**~0~**

"Hey, baby. Are you ready to go home? I got all your stuff in the car, but I can't find your Ninja Turtle backpack."

I looked up at Daddy, confused. "You're taking me home? Why isn't Mommy coming to get me?"

"Yeah. Actually, your grandma Esme is going to come stay with you for a little while. Your sister decided to come a little early, so Mommy's going to be in the hospital," he explained.

"Is that okay?" I asked, suddenly worried.

Daddy gave me a hug. "Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry. We'll see how she's feeling when we get into town, and if it's okay, we'll stop by the hospital first to say hi. How does that sound?"

I nodded, feeling nervous for some reason.

**~0~**

We did not get to go to the hospital to see Mommy.

Mommy called to talk to me. She said that there were some complications, but I wasn't supposed to worry. She sounded weird though, and when I said that she said that it hurts a lot for the baby to get here.

I was mad at the baby until Mommy told me that it hurt when I came, too. I told her I was sorry, and I was too little to know, and she laughed.

Grandma tried to get me to play, but I didn't want to. She didn't yell at me about it though. I went to bed and hugged my doll and wished that Mommy and Edward were back. Grandma rubbed my back and scratched my hair, which I liked, but it made me sleepy.

When I woke up, I was crying because I had a bad dream that Mommy wasn't ever coming home. But Grandma hugged me and didn't tell me I was a baby for crying. She said Mommy was just fine and so was Bianca, my little sister.

She said we couldn't see them until morning, but she let me call. Edward said Mommy was sleeping, but I believed him when he said she was okay.

**~0~**

Grandma looked really happy when we drove to the hospital with Grandpa C. She'd brought a whole bunch of flowers - which I thought was silly because the baby wouldn't like flowers, I was sure about that - and let me pick out a soft, stuffed turtle to give to Mommy and the baby.

I liked turtles.

Finally we got to Mommy's room. She looked tired, but she smiled when she saw me, and held her arms out so I could give her a hug.

Edward was sitting beside her bed with the baby. She was so small! He looked really happy, and I hoped he would still love me even though he had his own little girl now. I kind of thought he would though.

"Miss Kassandra April, this is Bianca Katherina," he told me. Grandma Esme said her name was from a Shakespeare play. Edward was always talking about that guy.

Checking to make sure it was okay and no one would yell at me, I picked up her hand and shook it. "She's all little and scrunchy."

Everyone thought that was funny, and I didn't know why. She was kind of ugly.

"Remind me to show you your baby pictures," Mommy said. "You were scrunchy, too."

Well, that was just silly. I was never ugly like this. But she was my baby sister, so I was the only one that got to say so. "Hello, Bianca. I'm your sister and the boss of you because I'm older," I informed her, which the adults thought was funny, too, but Bianca better know it was true.

She just closed her eyes, but I didn't care. I talked to her anyway. Edward said new babies slept a lot. "I think this is a nice family to be in. We have an Aunt Alice. She's crazy but she'll give you lots of hats. And Uncle Emmett is a lot of fun. He and Aunt Rosie have two kids. Irina is fun, but sometimes Vasilii can be a big cry baby."

"Kas," Mommy groaned. "Be nice."

I sighed at her. "What? I'm just telling the truth!" I thought about it. "But he does share his toys, so he's okay. And he'll climb trees with me. Irina doesn't do that." I looked at Mommy as if to say 'better?' and she smiled at me.

"Aunt Alice is married to Uncle Jasper. He's fun, too, but Uncle Emmett will swing you around faster. And Grandma Esme and Grandpa C are really cool. And Grandpa Charlie is a cop, but he won't let me touch his gun, so don't ask."

The baby yawned which looked funny 'cause she had no teeth.

Well, if she really wanted to sleep, I could tell her a story. "Once upon a time, it was just me and Mommy. But then Mommy found Edward. 'Cept you probably should call him Daddy. And he was really nice to Mommy and me. And he told us he loved us, and let us have his big family, so we weren't such a small family anymore. But there's always room for more, and that's why you're here," I said, nodding and touching her hand again. "And we're going to live happily ever after."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Jeebus... that was fluffernut sauce.
> 
> This fic was made possible by the everlasting love and support of jadedandboring, barburella (even though she accidentally almost deleted half this epilogue), jfka06, CellaCullen, twitina, GinnyW (who named baby Bianca), and bmango.
> 
> This has been a fun little experiment. Thanks for joining me on this journey. I had a great time, and I'm glad you seemed too as well!


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